Unbelieveable! I never thought I would see the day when gas was over three dollars a gallon constantly. Why is the price increasing? In a recent article, Gas Prices Blamed On Refineries, Demand, the price is blamed on refinery problems. The article said that one of the largest refineries in the nation, in Whiting, Indiana, won't be at full capacity for several months due to unexpected repairs. The average price of gas in the nation is at $3.07, which is .20 higher than two weeks ago! The previous record was $3.03 a gallon in August of 2006. In San Francisco the price of a gallon of gas is $3.49! I would say I am going to have to get another job to pay for my gas expenses but it would require more gas to get to the job. Will the price go down? Will it keep increasing? Could it reach $4 a gallon? The price of gas is scary. The sooner alternate power sources are put into effect, the better. How close are we to having solar powered cars, all electric cars, or other alternately powered cars, in mass use? We have to do something!
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17 comments:
Mr. Carey,
I think the price of gas is ridiculous. I am starting to wonder why the price of the oil is going down, while the price we pay for gas is going up. I think that from the war in Iraq, fuel companies found out how much Americans are willing to pay for gas and they are making money off of it. If we will pay 4.00 per gallon to get to work or school, they might as well take advantage of it.
-Catherine
Shaun,
I think this is crazy! This is where the government may be able to help the citizens out.
Although I guess I can be the one who has the last laugh! Everyone makes fun of my little "clown car", I just have to brag and say that I get about 41 miles per gallon!! Ha ha! I think the car companies are improving, if you look at the different kinds of cars that are rated close to 40 mpg.
Aaron Mast
Aaron,
If you ever watch "An Inconvenient Truth" you will see that our country is not even close to where it needs to be as far as gas-saving vehicles. You are right in saying that the companies are improving but they are nowhere near where they need to be.
You are right, you are one of the few that is laughing. I hope the government does something soon.
I, for one, am tired of politicians who jump on the bandwagon and complain about gas prices. They do NOTHING to help the common person concerning this issue and also the increased electric rates that have occurred in Illinois in the past 6 months. Some legislator ties up the bill with some asinine amendment and the bill becomes dead in the water. It makes no difference whether its Republican or Democrat. The public needs to start an initiative to place term limits on these politicians in Washington and Springfield. We need to send a message to these so called "public servants" that we want them to demand and get changes for US. We are paying their salaries and benefits (which is another issue), and they need to respond to what the public wants.
Paul
Paul,
I totally agree with you! It is amazing how politicians are elected to their positions but soon forget that they are working for us. Term limits would be an excellent idea and sure would motivate politicians to do what the public wants. Gas prices are just the tip of the iceberg concerning the subjet of politicians what they do for the public.
The price of gas is about 2 to 3 times the US price in Europe and Asia. The price for a gallon of gas in other parts of the world is higher due to taxes. My colleagues in France pay $5.50 per gallon, Japan pay $4.50, and in the UK they pay $5.70. Small cars like the Smarts and Mini’s are the car of choice in Europe. You don’t see to many SUVs in Europe. The Smart looks like one of those Tiny Tikes toy cars.
Recently in the news I heard that several states have suspended the gasoline tax in their states to assist in keeping the price lower. However, Illinois tax continues to remain among the highest in the country. I’m lucky that I can dip over the boarder and buy gas in Indiana which can be as much as 30 cents cheaper. I hear the same occurs on the Illinois/Missouri, Illinois/Wisconsin boarder. It makes you wonder why neighboring states are cheaper. The gas tax is supposed to be used for road construction and repair. I have traveled all over the United States and I honestly can say Illinois roads are among the worst in the United States. Are drivers in boarder states easier on the roads that Illinoisans? Also, Illinois is one of a handful of states in the US that also charges a retail sale tax on gas.
Ironman
It's not long before we're all driving solar/hydro/electric/whatever hybrid cars. We are running out of a resource that we have made too precious, and since most of us live too far from our workplaces to bicycle, a shift in power sources is inevitable. I only hope that the technologies we have will be made available to the public soon, instead of squeezing out the last bit of money into the oil companies' pockets, leaving us with no oil and completely desperate.
Hopefully my opinion is not too misinformed.
I need to rent "An Inconvenient Truth" and subscribe to Time Magazine.
Until then,
KC out
KC,
A tip about "An Inconvenient Truth", skip through all the private moments of Al Gore at home or traveling. Those parts I found really took away from the point he was trying to make about global warming. The film really slows down during these intermittent breaks.
Ironman,
Thanks for the comments! I think my students will be awed by those prices. Keep the comments coming! I have found all your comments interesting. It's hard to believe that a skinny boy from SJ could have this much knowledge to share! By the way, we live on the Illinois and Missouri border and prices in Missouri are always around 8 cents cheaper.
i think that gas prices would go down if we just all stopped driving for a day or two.
Mr.C im totally freaked out that when i get my licence that gas is going to cost 5 or more dollars for a gallon of gas how is a 16-year-old going to pay for that? Is anyone going to do anything about it?
Mr. Carey,
Gas is to high. I will not be able to ride my ATV or go-kart without paying $4 a gallon just to fill the tank up.
Brad Moulton & Justin Blacketer
Mr. Carey,
This is nuts!!! I don't want to have to pay that much for gas when I turn 16. i think that they just want to get as much money from us as they can because they know that we depend on cars for transportation and we will pay almost anything (an arm and a leg..haha) for gas. The gas prices are outrageous and I hope someone does something about it soon.
*~Lacey H~*
Mr. C
What is going to become of these gas prices. It is not that I do not want to drive when I am 16 but I do not know if I will be able to pay. Don't we already pay enough for tax. Where does all the money go? We are building ethonal plants all over the country, if we use that then it should go down. But not many are going over to ethonal. It would be cheaper.
-Chad Lentz-
Gas prices really hit me today. I paid $7.22 to fill up my 2-gallon gas can for my mower! This is unreal!
I, like everyone else, hate high gas prices. But I feel that we as citizens have brought much of this on ourselves. We were forwarned in the '70's that we would run short of fossil fuels---prices would and did increase. There was talk then of electric and solar powered cars. What happened? Well there were some who tried to market these ideas. The problem? Greed set in. Electric cars were designed, better fuel milage systems were designed, other alternative sources were looked into. Where did those ideas go? The rights to them were sold to the Automakers and the Oil Companies, who whether you believe it or not, are in this together. When after a few years the Big 3 were asked where the new ideas went we were told they just didn't work out or weren't feasable---the new ideas would cost more than just continueing to use oil.
My Uncle bought a new heavy duty Ford 4 wheel drive with a big V-8 engine in the late 1970's. He drove it for a few weeks and told me he couldn't believe the mileage he was getting---35 to 40 MPG!!! He was contacted by the dealership where he purchased the truck to bring it in because it had a recall and they needed to fix it. He asked about the recall and they were very vague about the nature of the recall. He told them there didn't seem to be anything wrong with the truck and he was happy with it so he wasn't bringing it in until they could tell him what the recall was. The dealership and Ford Motor Co. continued to require him to bring the truck back--he continued to resist. The sheriff showed up with a summons for him to return the truck to the dealership for repairs at a specific date and time or face being arrested---for what I am not sure. Well he showed up as requested---several Suits and a couple of Ford Technicians in White coveralls took a case out of their vehicle. His truck was taken to the service garage and they removed the cauberator---this was before fuel injection---put it in the case and installed a new cauberator on his truck. The Ford people left and my Uncle was given the truck back. He drove it around for a few more weeks and guess what---he was getting 15 MPG like all the rest of the vehicles in this class!!! He told the dealership that he would never purchase another vehicle from them unless they told him the whole story behind the recall. It seems that the cauberator that had been installed at the assembly line on my Uncle's truck was experimental and had gotten out to the production line accidentally and was never supposed to be let out of the facility. So you see that the automakers are in this deal with the oil companies---and our wonderful politicians have their back pockets full of money from these special interest groups. YOU THINK PRICES WILL DECLINE IF THE GOVERNMENT GETS INVOLVED? Why would they do that--it would cost them money they are taking out of the little person's pocket---they don't really care about where their pork comes from, just that it gets into their pockets.
KC you think that soon we will see an end to oil dependancy--ethanol, hydrogen power, maybe even nuclear powered vehicles--we have the technology. The only problem is that if that is where the money shifts to then the greed will be there also. We'll be told (like we already are being told about the price of ethanol) that it costs more for the new energy sources than if we just keep using fossil fuels. And if the politicians see that it is inevitable to go to another fuel source they will be there to fill their pockets also---it'll cost $50 for a hydrogen pill to fill your tank with, or whatever means there is. It is a no win situation. We are at a disadvantage here in the Rural Midwest---we don't have many alternatives to get where we need to go. No mass transportation, no short distance commutes, etc. We can only try our best to limit our consumption, but we as AMericans think it our right to have a big SUV, 4 Wheel Drive, or Zero to 60 in less than 10 seconds. I don't see a good answer for any of this except to pull up to the pump when the gauge gets close to E, put in the nozzel, pull the handle, and cringe!!!
Steve,
Unbelievable story about your uncle! I can't believe that. Greed with a capital "G"! Did your uncle ever try to contact someone on this issue? I don't know who that would be that wasn't a government official though. I do know the technology is out there but we have to find a powerful office to make things work out some how.
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