This week I watched gasoline prices get lower and lower as I commuted from Texas through Oklahoma and Arkansas.  From $3.80 last Sunday, down to $3.33 today in AR and OK.  Higher in Texas.  (By the way, I like to check gas prices before I buy in order to get the best deal).

A colleague of mine tells me his wife says there is no gas to be found in their area in North Carolina.  What?!  Getting lower in price for some while not available to others…

Well, if you are looking for all the answers about why the price of gas goes up and down every time the weather changes or violence is reported or the mortgage crisis peaks or Britney Spears gets in trouble, then you came to the right place!  That is because misery loves company, and you are in good company with all of us other folks who just don’t get it.

Though not an expert in detailed market economics, I am no dummy either.  So, I do a little studying and listening to the explanations of the “experts” on the news.  Finally I have come to some conclusions: 1) The answer is complex; 2) The situation is complicated; 3) Nobody really knows or understands how it works or what is really going on; 4) and If they do, they are lying or not telling the truth.

If there really is a simple answer, then it should be presented simply.

Here is what I do know…

- Gasoline was about $2.20/gallon a year ago, now it is over $3.45/gal average.
- Wars and rumors of war increase the price of oil.
- Hurricanes and rumors of hurricanes increase the price of oil.
- Increases in the price of oil increase the price of gasoline.
- The price of oil rose by over 50% from less than $100/barrel to $150/barrel this year.
- The price of oil rose fell by 33% when it dropped from $150 to back below $100.
- The price of gas dropped due to decrease in consumption due to record prices.
- The CEO of Royal Dutch Shell said last year that there is no shortage of oil in the earth.
- The US is reported to have vast oil reservoirs in ANWR and offshore but the government has placed them off limits at the insistence of environmentalists and special interest groups to our nation’s peril.
- OPEC said they are planning to decrease production in order to keep the price of oil from declining any further.
- Georgia (the country recently invaded by Russia) has the major pipeline that supplies oil to Europe.

All the above points are absolute facts!  But, facts should not be confused with the truth.  And the truth is that no one really knows the true truth.

So now that I have shared with you my own personal pain at the pump, I say that America [and the world] has become too dependent on foreign oil.  For reasons of economics, national security, and the environment, it is time to progress in going green.

No, I am not trading in my v10 Excursion or my 8.2 litre turbo diesel school bus, at least not yet.  But I am consciously making an effort to educate myself and operate with more energy efficiency.  In fact, I have a set of fan blades in my shed for my 16′ diameter windmill project (in line with many other projects).

Speaking of windmills, I leave you with this… it is not the end all solution, but is a step along the way.  Maybe a painful step.  But, a step nevertheless.  And if you decide to have a good attitude on this journey, it might just put a smile on your face like it did mine.

Cheers!
Michael

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