The Wheel of Cheese

About a year ago, I wrote an article about how gas prices have gone skyhigh across the United States. This was back when gas was well over $3.00, and most people (including me) were still in a state of shock over the sudden rising price of gas. Almost a year later, things have not changed as gas prices are still very high and people like me are continuing to get ripped off by oil companies. So here is another blog entry with added reasoning as to why the cost of gas risen.

So what am I going to talk about this time??? With so much to choose from pertaining to high gas prices, there are practically a million reasons as to why gasoline is so high right now. Usually a person's main target is the oil companies who manufacturer the oil and are a key reason why the prices are so high. That is a very significant claim, as they are the ones supplying us with the crude oil to create gasoline, but two sources that I think pose a larger threat are George Bush, and the consumers who purchase gas. After talking about these two topics, I am also going to provide you with some ways you can cut your costs on gasoline.

Thanks to our current president George Bush, we are fighting the fight against high gas prices. Bush started the ripple of rising gas prices by sending troops to Iraq in March 2003 and in the closing months before exiting his term as president, he is once again creating new ripples to keep prices rising. In these final months of his presidency, George Dubya has been on a continuous push for ethanol becoming the next major energy source for automobiles. Sure, ethanol powered cars would be a great alternative to gas powered cars, but by promoting ethanol powered cars, Bush is hurting gas prices.

Since Bush begun campaigning for ethanol powered cars, oil companies have been very hesitant to invest in new oil refineries, as they are afraid that Ethanol may become the next big thing and knock crude oil down a peg. As a result, lesser oil refinerys have been made, which has lowered supply for crude oil and thus raised gas prices and demand for oil. While the ethanol push is a new energy alternative for autos, it sounds weird coming from a native Texan who once ran an oil company before becoming president.

When looking further into the increased demand for crude oil, George Bush isn't the only one to blame. Today, there are more cars out on the road today than ever and with the increase in consumers needing gasoline, comes a greater demand, which has not been met by the oil companies. With the demand not being met, that has led to higher gas prices, as consumers will pay as much as oil companies want them to pay.

So why else are the consumers to blame??? Well there are many reasons why we should blame ourselves for the rise in gas prices. Just as people are beginning to fall in love with new energy efficient cars, we are also driving around SUV's that are bigger than ever and use all sorts of gasoline to get people from Point A to Point B.

This past summer, I worked for the Kansas City Chiefs as a courier, and I drove around a 2007 Chevy Suburban for the duration of camp, so I had a first-hand experience with how poor a SUV's gas mileage is. Lets just say that I will never personally own an SUV, and I would never drive one, even if it was the only mode of transportation out there.

In addition, in conjunction with gas prices going up, more people are driving, so the amount of cars on the road has increased tenfold. With more cars, comes increased demand that oil companies struggle to meet. This leads to higher gas prices. In addition, with the gas prices continugin as the consumers are dependent on the oil companies for oil. We are at the point, where the consumer has abused driving to the point where we need oil companies to create gasoline for purchase, no matter how expensive that is.

Personally, living in Minnesota, the price of gas currently hovers in my homestate at an average price of $2.96 per gallon. This may be a high price for gas, but its considerabally lower than the national average, as nationwide, gas costs an average of $3.15 in the United States. I guess it helps that I don't live in a place like California, Illinois or Florida. At the same time though, everybody across the United States is getting hurt by high gas prices, and paying $2.96 per gallon does create a pinch in my wallet.

In addition, I drive a sports compact car, which is very fuel efficient, so I am not getting torn apart at the pumps like those who drive SUV's. Finally, I have come across some great methods to cut down gas prices. They range from performance upgrades to looking around for the best deal on gas. Here is a small list of useful tips to keep your car gasoline friendly, no matter how large/small your car is:

1. Complete tuneups on your car regularly (ex - Oil changes, tire rotations)
2. Bring your car in every so often for detailed checkups at your local car dealership
3. Put in a custom air filter to improve your gas mileage (ex - K&N/Fram)
4. I visit GasBuddy.com to find the best gas prices in my area.
5. If you cannot find any gas prices online, drive around your neighborhood to find the gas station with the best price.

So, after my blog entry last year about rising gas prices, I noticed that the rate of gas declined a little bit after my post. Maybe this time, the same will happen and gas will fall a couple of cents. I'm not crossing my fingers though because experts are saying this summer, gas prices will soar to above $3.00 per gallon. But, if this does happen, I think I will start to post a regular weekly article about gas prices, in hopes that they fall back down to $2.00.

Note - The gas prices in this article were found at TwinCitiesGasPrices.com

Labels: gas prices

Posted by Kyle at 12:14 PM | Permalink | Comments

If there is one thing that is ripping off America these days, it is the price of gasoline. As many people know, the price of gas has increased slightly over the past couple years, but in the past year alone, it has jumped to all time highs. This past Friday, I went to fill up The Silver Accord and a full tank of gas cost a pricey $41 at over three dollars a gallon. This is a far outcry to what most people pay, as I drive a fairly economical car that gets great gas mileage. After getting my full tank of gas, I thought while I drove on the road about what the future of gas prices will bring. Since filling up with gas, Memorial Day weekend has been going on this weekend, and it has resulted in the price of gas increasing again. I figured I'd take an opportunity to discuss gas prices on my blog and give my opinion on the topic, as well as what the rise of gas prices has done to citizens in the United States (and lets not forget those Canadians living to the north too :-P).

When looking at gas prices from an overall standpoint, the greed of gas companies has gotten out of control and has resulted in the price of gas being outrageously high. Looking online today, I noticed that a gallon of gas averages a cost of $3.19 across the United States, which is an increase of 36 cents from this same one year ago. Whats even worse, is that these rising trends are going to continue, as some experts are even saying that in another year, gas could rise up to over $4.00 a gallon, something I never thought would happen. With the price of gas rising, many people are not happy, as gas is a vital need to the transportation system in the United States. With people using gas to power up cars, boats, motorcycles, lawnmowers, four-wheelers, you name it, gas is proven to be a very important resource. The sudden rise of gas prices has not only angered society, but it has resulted in the whole nation showing their displeasure over gas prices in numerous ways.

For starters, there have been various news stories that you see appearing on television, in newspapers, magazines, etc. about the price of oil and various subtopics. Since its such a large topic of discussion these days in the United States, every media outlet is doing what they can to offer their own two cents on the topic. One interesting method in particular that has attracted my eye is people who have voiced their opinion about high gas prices through Facebook, a social networking utility for people. Being a member of Facebook, I have seen many different groups talking about gas, but never looked at how many there were. Upon looking, there are over 500+ groups on Facebook that talked about gas prices. These group ranged to be about topics such as how we can get gas prices lowered, people voicing their displeasure about rising gas prices, and other various topics. When looking at the increased coverage about rising gas prices, I find it all interesting because about five years ago, gas prices, oil rigs, and supply/demand were seldom mentioned words in conversations. In today's world, these words, and many others are common words that are heard in discussions wherever you go.

With there being so many negatives about gas prices lately, I'd like to take time out to point out some of the overseen positive things to come from gas prices increasing. One thing that jumps out at me is the variety of websites that go into detail about high gasoline prices (ex - TwinCitiesGasPrices.com). These sites enable people to find gas stations with the cheapest gas prices online. In addition to this, car companies are doing their part as they are trying to improve gas mileage in their new car models. This includes such methods as making their new cars more fuel efficient, offering free gas for people who purchase cars from dealerships and creating hybrid vehicles that run on electricity and ethanol fuels. Higher gas prices have also prompted businesses to help consumers out as radio stations, newspaper companies and various websites online offer giveaways where people have the opportunity to get free gas. All of these positives reflect the conscious effort that has been made by people to make the best out of a bad situation. Makes me wonder if any of this would even exist if gas prices were in a lower range. Would we care that much if gas was lower??? Probably not.

Taken as a whole, I feel gas prices are something that is a complete joke, and that in the future, things need to change. For starters, many people cite the increase of gas prices due to increased demand and lower supply of oil. That is not the case. The demand for oil has increased, but it has not grown in such a fashion whereas it has been the wholehearted reason for the increase of gas prices. The main reason for increase has to do with our overall oil supply. When looking at the supply, there is plenty of oil in the world, and oil companies could produce a lot more oil than they have currently been producing. If oil companies would start drilling for oil in more locations, and producing more oil barrels per day, this would drive down gas prices in a heartbeat as the demand would decrease, and the supply would increase. Instead, they have been producing less oil, rather than more, which has resulted in both raised demand for oil and increased prices at the pump.

In my opinion, oil companies need to stop being so greedy, and lower gas prices. Our world has become so dependent on oil that even though they are raising gas prices, we still buy, no matter what the cost is. Just thinking of how much money they are making for each barrel sold is sickening, and its something that if continued, could get way out of control. Its encouraging to see that people are starting to boycott certain gas stations, not buy gas on certain days, and this needs to continue, as our voice needs to be heard towards the gas companies.

If you are still reading my post to this point, I'd like to conclude by saying, don't buy gas from Exxon or Mobil. They are the two largest oil companies, and if people band together and choose not to purchase gas from them, prices of gas WILL go down. Also, there have been several days (the last being May 15th), where people have boycotted gasoline purchases. If any future dates come up, I will post them on my blog, as I would encourage you to participate in those as well.

OK...I am done ranting...for now.

Labels: gas prices, greedy people

Posted by Kyle at 6:44 PM | Permalink | Comments