Gas prices?

Question

what do you think about the gas prices going up? is it really coming down to buying milk or putting gas in the car? it's cheaper to buy milk and eggs with a loaf of bread than it is to put one gallon of gas.

i think it's crazy and put should take more public transportation becouse it's a hole lot cheaper than putting the gas in the car.

tell me you thuoghts on this one

well after i heard what happen with the canada oil well . that gas prices are going up even higher. it's scary i really think the goverment should find a better way to gas up cars for the people.

Answer 1

This is a paper I did for my English class. Hope it helps.

People in modern America believe that a gallon of gasoline is too expensive now, but have they ever seen the prices in Europe or used their common sense? Apparently not, since the United States has some of the lowest taxes in the world on both sales and gasoline tax. In addition, gas and oil, like all other hydrocarbon products, is a non-renewable resource; that is the more we use it the more valuable it becomes. Lastly, shouldn’t people be doing more to make alternatives to gasoline instead of complaining all the time and where have we gotten with the research and development on gasoline alternatives? This and a lot more can prove that we can live with these gas prices for a while.

Taxes play a major role in deciding how much money you’re going to be burning literally considering gasoline is burnt with the motor, but that’s besides the point. Anyways, in the US the average sales tax is 3% (Kantrowitz par 11) while in the entire world it is 8.549% (PR News Today par 1). Considering that some countries’ sales tax may even be lower than the USA’s it’s almost scary to think of sales taxes in other countries. For instance, in August of 2005 your average cost of gasoline would be $2.56 with taxes and $2.17 without those taxes, but in Britain a mathematically converted gallon of gasoline would cost $6.06 with taxes, but only $1.97 without them (Ford par 16). These taxes on gasoline combined with Britain’s sales tax of roughly 15% makes almost all prices in Great Britain soar well above other countries’ prices. In 2003 Britain also had the highest gas prices in the world, including the individual world high in Teeside at $5.64 USD. Other world highs for the time included Milford Haven and Reading, both at $5.56 and Norwich at $5.54. The only other site that managed to get into the top 5 was Hong Kong at #2 with $5.62, just 2 cents below Teeside’s high (CNN, table). So if people were complaining when gas was $2 you have to wonder what they’re saying now when its commonplace to drive down the road and find gas over $3.

Part of the reason why gas prices are so high is because it’s a non-renewable resource. The more we use it, the less there is of it left in the Earth so it increases in value all the time. It’s not known how much gasoline and other hydrocarbon products there are in the world that have not been discovered yet but it seems like energy companies are all too eager to start drilling at all the sites they can find. Even though gas is a non-renewable resource it can be replaced, it just takes millions of years to replace it and for all we know there might not even be an Earth by then if our energy-dependant society continues to use technology to find ways to scrape up every little bit of energy out there that we can (EKP, par 2). Economists even believe that one day oil will become so rare it will be more valuable than Platinum, the rarest element in the Earth’s crust which is primarily used for jewelry. So will we be making oil rings and giving them to our fiancées for our engagements in 2650? Probably not, but it’ll be something like that since once oil’s gone, it’s gone.

One thing that people have tried to do over a period of years was to make alternatives to gasoline. Other hydrocarbon products have been thought up but some would either be more expensive in the long run or others were actually cheaper but did not meet the EPA’s (Environmental Protection Agency, [not a source]) standards for exhaust and were deemed as not commercially available considering their high amounts of pollution. This issue arose with propane, coal, and wood pellets. Propane is actually used in some forms of transportation around the world such as some trains use it as a back-up fuel should their coal engine go bad but it is no replacement just yet for gasoline. Coal and wood pellets had been viewed as implausible solutions but possible considering their energy and the fact that it was rather long lasting compared to gasoline and propane. Although coal was a great source of energy it didn’t work since it’s emissions were easily multiples of gasoline and the car’s coal chamber would be high maintenance from the overall dirtiness of coal. Plus even the slightest amount of water in the coal chamber could render the vehicle useless. Finally, wood pellets were thought of as a possibility but they were dismissed after smoke and fumes were too common a problem but car manufacturers and car developers for top companies are trying to fix the problem for wood pellets because they are an easily renewable resource, unlike gasoline. They come from trees (obviously) which can grow at incredible speeds compared to how long it would take to renew the world’s oil and gasoline supplies. So it looks like we’re stuck with gas for now considering it actually makes fewer pollutants than many alternatives. But now, what about electricity? Well it happens to be that electricity, although cheap, is used up easily. It has been estimated by many economists that if a family of 4 were making a cross-country trip (from NYC to Las Vegas, with a 20 mile per gallon car and 20 gallon gas chamber) they would have to refuel about 15 times using gasoline. But when using an electric car on the same exact route they would have to recharge about 200 times (Hudema, par 7). Plus with the limited technology that we have charging the car would take approximately 1 hour. That’s 200 hours or 8 and a third days that they would waste refueling their car. These results prove that alternatives are still simply in the works and that nothing has really become commercially available as of yet, but scientists are still trying other alternatives such as fuel cells. But gas is simply easier to use since we know what it can do, the exhaust it puts out, and how it can affect the environment so that we know how to handle it. So in the end, gasoline is simply the most convenient and easiest thing to use for fuel.

So, in the end, it appears we’re stuck with gasoline and its ever-rising prices. Even though we may have lower taxes here in the United States, we’re still going to see those increases. And considering it’s a non-renewable resource with no convenient alternatives, we’re like Robinson Caruso on an island and oil and its alternatives are back on the mainland; that is we have a long way to go. But then again, in the end could it all be price gouging? Last year Exxon Mobile reported earnings of 36.13 billion dollars, a record amount of money flow for any company in the Untied States’ history (Wikipedia par 1). Other companies like Shell, Citgo, Texaco, Blimp, Stop and Shop and Costco all reported record sales from gas sales. They say the companies that own the land are charging them more for the gasoline so they have to raise prices to make a profit. But then again, those companies that own those oil-rich lands have yet to say how much oil they actually have in their area. So who knows what we actually have down there, or what tomorrow will bring for us in the world we call common energy. Sure these prices may be price gouging but those chances are rather slim. The rising of gas prices is simply inevitable and can’t be lowered for many reasons. It’s just another road block modern society will have to overcome.

“Gas Prices Around the World” Copyright 2006, CNN 5-30-06 http://money.cnn.com/pf/features/lists/g...
“How Oil Was Formed” Copyright 2005, Energy Kid’s Page 5-30-06 http://www.wia.doe.gov/kids/energyfacts/...
Ford, Peter, “Gas Prices Too High? Try Europe” Copyright 8-26-05, Christian Science Monitor 5-13-06 http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0826/p01s0...
Hudema, Mike, “Until We Have a Clean, Green Car” Copyright 4-1-06 (update 4-18-06), Global Exchange 5-30-06 http://www.globalexchange.org/update/pub...
Kantrowitz, Mark, “Shopping” Copyright 2006, EduPass 5-29-06
http://www.cdupass.org/living/shopping.p...
“Vertex Study Finds Sales Tax Rates Level Off” Copyright 1996-2006, PR News Today 5-29-06 http://prnewstoday.com/release.htm?cat=c...
“ExxonMobil” copyright 2006, Wikipedia, 6-2-06 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/exxonmobil...

Answer 2

While I don't agree with the oil executives making billions off of the American people, I do think that we have become too full of ourselves. Mostly everyone I know is complaining about the high prices, but have we stopped making cars and trucks that only get 10 miles to the gallon? The answer is a loud and resounding no. And why you might ask? Because those same car manufacturers are giving our government a lot of money to just look the other way, while the rest of hurt.

And for those of you out there that just went out and bought one of these gas guzzlers -- shame on you!! I know this is a free country and we are all free to do what we want, but what about preserving something for future generations? We are all going to be dead and buried before we know it and it is our children and our children's children that will have to deal with what we give them.

In the 1970's when there were gas shortages, we didn't go out and build bigger cars like they are now. They built smaller ones. Since history seems to be repeating itself once again, maybe we should learn from the past instead of just learning about the past. The definition of insanity after all is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

My advice to everyone: Stop b****ing and start doing something to make a difference! Let those creative juices start flowing and let's start developing multiple forms of alternative fuels. Then we won't even care about how much gas costs because we won't need it.

Answer 3

Public transporation is the best thing we've got going now. I moved closer to the train, and sold my car (and it was a newer hybrid too, but they're $3000 more than regular cars). Now I have a 10-minute walk to the train station, and a 15-minute train ride to work. Here, a monthly pass will cost less than $80, which is generally less than only car insurance -- not to mention the cost of a car payment, gas, and maintenance. Plus, I get exercise in the process and pass the grocery store on the way home.

People are usualy too frightened to give up the independence of having a car and being able to go wherever they want to whenever they want to, but it's worth it for the savings in dollars and to the environment.

Sure, gas may be much more expensive in Europe, but they don't consume nearly as much. There are many bikers and pedestrians there.

Answer 4

public transportation is a good idea if you work within the hours that the buses run. Unfortunately, they don't even go near where we work. The gas prices are outrageous (was $3.15 over the weekend, now $2.98). We are going to have to figure out how to economize. Make the grocery run after work but before you go home. Unnecessary or excessive trips can really drink the gas. Try to carpool is you can. Going to only get worse before it gets better from the sounds of it (US pipeline shut down). Our government needs to get those alternative fuels going and soon.

Answer 5

"It's scary i really think the goverment should find a better way to gas up cars for the people."

Consulting the source of the problem in order to find a cure for the problem is never a good way to go. Haven't we learned that yet? The dublicity of the United States government (or indeed, any government) will grant us no salvation.

Do they no longer teach economics in our school system or what?

If you want more affordable gasoline, you want to take away the US government's ability to wage foreign wars, you want to peel back regulations and costs making the extraction or production of oil within our own borders improbable and impossible -- and you want the government from taxing and subsidizing related industries. We will soon find ourselves developing coal to oil plants (one will soon go into construction near me) and within the next decade or two, we will be exploiting the ocean floor in order to utilize the practically infinite hydrocarbons that the ocean contains.

Answer 6

I hope it goes to 5 dollars a gallon. Less traffic on the roads!

Answer 7

It cost me $35.00 to fill my 86 Camaro once every two weeks, I spend more on a model car and paint.

Answer 8

I think it's horrible, Pretty soon people won't be able to afford to get around. Especially those in rural areas. I love your name, I collect Mary moo-moo's!!

Answer 9

it is getting high, itll be @ least $4.00 or $5.00 before the year is up