Why Are Gasoline Prices Going Up So High?
If everyone else in the world is paying a lot more for gas, why shouldn't
Americans? Take your average spoiled American who blames the Arabs for raising the gas prices unfairly in order to make a bigger profit. It's true, gas prices have gone up by a lot in the last few months, but is that unfair? Prices still are a lot higher in Canada, Europe and just about any other developed nation, according to Mike Royko in the May 2, 1996 issue of the Chicago Tribune. Ted Z.
Manuel in a letter entitled "Voice of the People" of the Chicago Tribune, said
"Most anywhere in Europe, gas costs are from $3.00 to $5.00 per gallon. We scream when it hits a $1.35 to $1.75 a gallon, which if adjusted for inflation actually is cheaper than 25 years ago." It seems that Americans just think the world owes them a favor. Maybe it's time that they start playing fairly and stop feeling so sorry for themselves!!!
According to many articles, Americans have a lot more to be thankful for than they do to complain about. For one, cars use gas a lot more efficiently than they did in the past. According to Royko, "even today's luxury cars give you better gas mileage than the cheapest Chevies, Fords and Plymouths did not that long ago." What does this mean? This means that gas prices should logically go up. It's the basic law of supply and demand. It's true that more Americans are driving, but the gasoline suppliers still deserve to get p...
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s (ABC) news article titled, “Petrol price soars, more pain at the pump ahead,” discusses the rise in the price of fuel and its effect on Australian motorists. This article also discusses how this rise in the price of fuel occurred, mainly focusing on its effect on consumers (Janda 2014).
Another key cause to the price inflation issue is the extended period of bitterly cold weather that loomed in the northern and midwestern parts of the U.S. throughout the winter months. This led to an “increased demand in home heating oil, which is widely used in the region and is virtually identical to diesel fuel” (Lang1). This increased demand for fuel coupled with the restrictions on exported oil allowed OPEC to jack up their prices an exorbitant amount in a relatively short period of time.
Gasoline is one of the many conversation starters anywhere you go. People have different opinions on why gasoline prices are fluctuating at such a rapid pace. Some Americans have chosen a way of thinking towards the prices. Whether it be making up rumors or just plainly trash talking towards our government. You make ask yourself the same questions many economist do, why has the price of oil been dropping so fast? Why now? This a complicated question, but it boils down to the simple economics of supply and demand. Supply and demand means a relationship between how much of a particular product is available and how much of it people want, and especially the way that this affects the level of pricing. Now of course there would be a shortage of gasoline during the summer time when everyone is traveling
driving at 70 miles per hour uses much more gas than that of someone driving at 55.
By and large, the automobile is the only way most Americans travel. Without getting into the details of problems with public transportation, people simply do not consider other options to personal transportation. This becomes especially significant when one considers that cars are the single largest emitter of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The U.S. produces nearly 24% of the world’s CO2 emissions, a third of which comes from gasoline combustion in cars 4,5. Many scientists cite rising oil consumption as the leading cause...
To understand the increase in gas prices, one must first identify the distribution of dollars paid per gallon at the pump. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (eia) in 2010, the annual average paid at the pump consisted of 68% crude oil, 7% refining, 10% distribution and marketing, and 15% taxes (see Fig.1). This shows an increase of crude oil over the 2000-2009 average of 51%. (e. I. Administration)
Do the gas prices frustrate you every time you pull up to the pump? Gas companies are charging too much for the natural resource that is turned into what we know as gasoline. Gas companies discourage research and new ideas every year. Afraid of losing the market that they have cornered they buy patents. This way the patents will never be used and they still have the market cornered. Ethanol is a much safer and more economical solution to our gas problem. It is cleaner burning and it can be produced from year to year. Ethanol will allow the United States public to get away from the corruption of big gas business and finally be able to enjoy better prices at the pump. The gas companies do not need to be relied on any longer. The United States public should use ethanol. The economic help would be tremendous. It creates jobs, lowers gas prices, and reduces imports of oil to the U.S.
In 2004, crude oil producers around the world expected a 1.5% growth in the world’s demand for crude oil. The actual growth rate was more than double the projections at 3.3%. This growth was due to rapidly industrializing of foreign countries such as, China and India. Therefore the lack of crude oil affected the supply of gasoline to consumers at the pump.
We the American people have seen rising oil and gasoline prices continuously over the last few decades. Each year is slightly higher than the last. However, we have seen a few instances where oil and gasoline prices have spiked rapidly enough to invoke the American public to stop spending or cut back. The first time in recent history was after the hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005. Then, in July 2008 we saw a massive jump to the current record high national average of $4.50 per gallon of gasoline. Oil at this time was over $115 per barrel of light sweet crude which is the oil that American’s use in their gasoline. Currently the US oil and gasoline prices continue to increase. In the last month gasoline alone has risen almost 17 cents a gallon that’s slightly over a 5% increase (source). Compare the increase in the last month to the average yearly increase of %14 or roughly 39 cents per gallon (source). This leads to a particular, why is the price of oil and gasoline increasing at such a rapid rate? Three possible reasons for this could be: the unrest in the Middle East, speculation and risky trading on futures, or a simple difference in supply and demand.
In 1970 oil reserves became more scarce, leading to a decrease in production, while consumption continued to grow rapidly (Wright, R. T., & Boorse, D. F. 2011). In order to fill the gap between rising demand and falling supply of oil, the United States became more and more dependent on imported oil, primarily from Arab countries in the Middle East. (Wright, R. T., & Boorse, D. F. 2011). As the U.S and many other countries became highly industrialized nations, they became even more dependent on oil imports. With demand being higher than the actual amount of supply, prices kept rising reaching a peak of $140 a barrel in 2008. (Wright, R. T., & Boorse, D. F. 2011).
Gasoline plays an incredibly monumental role toward humanity in this day and age. It is used throughout the world in many different ways, from simple tasks like transportation, to more complex tasks like goods production. The recent fluctuating gas prices have made things very difficult for many, especially when gas prices went up to highs like $5 per gallon. However, Congress has recently passed legislation on the implementation of price controls on gasoline in order to combat this growing crisis. The responsibility of allocating gas to consumers was placed into the hands of the US Department of Energy.
As years pass and demand for gasoline increases, it is inevitable that the world’s oil supply will not last forever. This idea is made increasingly clear by evidence of peaking. Peak production is the point in time when about one-half of the world’s oil supply will be gone. Oil production in a given ...
Whether you are traveling, commuting for work, or just own a car in general, you are effected by gas prices. In the past four years gas has fluctuated tremendously, starting at $4.00 per gallon in 2014, and then declining to $1.88 per gallon in 2015. Now the gas price on average is $2.70 per gallon, but the highest gas prices in Oregon can get to be over $3.00 per gallon. How do gas prices effect the environment, your wallet, and people who work for the oil companies? I did some research to answer those exact questions.
Many people sharing one polluting vehicle is better than each driving their own. For many people this is becoming an important issue.