The Importance of Gasoline
As the driver pulls up next to the gas station to fill his car up with gas, he sees a small piece of paper with writing on it taped to the old rusty gas pump. Surprised, he gets out of the car to read the paper, “Due to the gasoline shortage, we will not be selling gas at this time.” According to the EIA.gov website, there are over 200 million vehicles being used today, and gasoline is the number one transportation fuel used in the United States. We can safely say that gasoline is a pretty important. If there was a shortage of gasoline, it would have a huge effect on this country. First a gas shortage would affect the price of fuel and then suburbs would become less attractive; it would also increase the use of cars that are less expensive to fuel and the use of public transportations.
The first effect of a gas shortage would be an increase in the price of fuel in this country. Ever since the year 2001 there has been a trend of gas prices increasing. According to an article written by K. Bonsor and E. Grabianowski titled “How Gas Works”, in May of 2008 the average price of gasoline was over four dollars per gallon and increased almost every month after. A gasoline would raise the price of gas even more than usual. There are two main reasons why a gas shortage would make the price of fuel increase. The first reason is supply and demand. When there is low supply and high demand, the price of fuel will increase. If there is a high supply of fuel and a low demand of fuel the price of fuel would generally decrease. A gas shortage would have an effect on the supply of fuel by lowering the amount available. This would then increase the price of fuel. The othe...
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... on us. First a Gas shortage would raise the price of fuel, then it would affect where we would live. A gas shortage would also affect what kind of transportation we would use. A shortage of gas would raise the price of fuel because of supply and demand, and because of the monopoly the O.P.E.C. has on oil distribution. Then a gas shortage would also have an effect on the amount of people living in suburbia because they would not be able to afford to commute from the suburbs to the city every day. A gas shortage would also force us to use cars that are less expensive to fuel. Since the price for charging an electric vehicle is as inexpensive as forty five dollars every month, an electric car would be a perfect alternative to regular gasoline powered car. Finally the gas shortage would increase the use of public transportation. Cities would see an increase of people
Americans also became concerned about the gas supply and the possibility of being unable to obtain gas. It was reported that drivers in America were lined up out in the streets for fear of not being able to get gas for their automobiles.
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).
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 Brent crude, the main international benchmark, was trading around $48 a barrel. The American benchmark was at around $45 a barrel (Clifford Krauss).
The national spotlight is dominated today with the debate over how much control should the government have in an individual’s life. With this in mind the question is asked, should the government be allowed to dictate the quality of gasoline that individuals use in their vehicles? Unbeknownst to consumers the Environmental Protection Agency recently approved the sale of E15 gasoline which contains harmfully high levels of ethanol. John Tomlin states, a “recent survey showed that a majority of consumers (95 percent) had not heard of E15 gasoline or the damage it may cause” (1). Is it ethical for the government to make this determination without notifying the public? Merriam-Webster dictionary defines ethical behavior as, “following accepted rules of morally right and good behavior” (1). Based on this definition, changing to E15 gasoline without the publics’ knowledge is ethically wrong because it can cause accelerated engine wear, fuel system damage, and ultimately result in car warranties being voided. This change in the quality of gasoline blends has proven to be more cost effective to producers, but in the long run it will end up being more costly to consumers.
Pollution is a major problem for all of us. People need to recognize this situation so we can start making a difference to this problem. In order to start making a difference, the federal government should increase gasoline tax by one dollar a gallon. Fifty percent of this dollar will go towards public transportation, since passenger cars and trucks are a major contribution towards air pollution, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, E.P.A (10/4, http://www.epa.gov/autoemissions/emsns.html). Due to the expected increase after this is put forth, the remaining fifty percent of the dollar will go towards safety on these transits. When public transportation increases, air pollution will decrease, which will lessen the harmful health risks towards the environment.
Gasoline is thought to be a helpful substance to all countries worldwide. However, the negative effects are far greater than the positive. A diversity of clean fuels is vital for the political, environmental, and economic health of America. Although gasoline is a product depended on by the United States of America and many other countries, the negative effects are unbearable, dangerous, and unnecessary due to the opportunity to use alternative fuels.
There is a great effect on the economy due to the sale of gas. The major effect of
Gasoline and the economy, the impact it has on the society. The current gas prices have a larger impact on consumer spending, however not so much on the percent of gasoline purchased, after all people still have to drive themselves places. (consumer psychologist.com) A major increase in cost will be necessary to lessen the quantity demanded. Gasoline is too costly and harmful to the economy and the environment thereby society needs to find alternative fuels, which best serve, the society.
Since the 19th century, gas has gradually become a necessity to mankind. It has been used for lighting our houses, to produce heat, to cook our food and to run our vehicles. As time passed, the price of gas has known many changes in Montreal. By the year of 2008 the price was relatively low, but suddenly became very high in 2014. This year in Montreal, the prices are as low as 3.4 US $/G. When considering the previously mentioned facts, we ask ourselves why the price of gas is low and what are the factors fluctuating its price. The main factor responsible of gas price changes is the cost of oil.
Wright, R. T., & Boorse, D. F. (2011). The U.S. dependency on foreign oil presents many negative impacts on the nation’s economy. The cost of crude oil represents about 36% of the U.S. balance of payments deficit. Wright, R. T., & Boorse, D. F. (2011). This does not directly affect the price of gas being paid by consumers, but the money paid circulates in the country’s economy and affects areas such as the job market and production facilities.
Gas Prices have changed a lot over the years and it seems to be increasing in cost and that it is not going to change. According to Foreman (2008), in 1981 the cost per gallon was $1.35 and now the cost is between $2.84 to $3.23 . Some of the reasons that the cost of gas is going up is because of the rising cost of oil. Gas prices are affecting people in there everyday lives with driving, living expenses, and with the cost of their living. Families are having to set a budget for there fuel and are having to not drive as much.
Gasoline is detrimental to the environment, and this is why I propose a gas free economy. Not only is it harmful to the world around us, but it also makes us dependent on other countries. Currently, according to NPR, America gets a good portion of its gas from Latin America, Canada, and Saudi Arabia. Although walking and biking seem like the obvious
Automotive gasoline and gasoline-oxygenate blends are used in internal combustion spark-ignition engines. These spark ignition engine fuels are primarily used for passenger cars. They are also used in off-highway utility vans, farm machinery and in other spark ignition engines employed in a variety of service applications.
The article by Mike Moffatt shows the price elasticity of demand for gasoline. According to Molly Espey the average price elasticity of demand for gasoline in the short- run is-0.26 and -0.58 In the long-run, which is a 10% raise in the price of gasoline lowers quantity demanded by 2.6% in the short- run and 5.8% in the long- run.Also, there are a studies were conducted by Phil Goodwin, Joyce Dargay and Mark Hanly at review of income and price elastics in the demand for road traffic and each of them has different study. Furthermore, the realized elasticities depend on factors such as the timeframe and locations that the study covers. If the gas taxes will rise, will cause consumption to decrease.
This will improve clean air and Hygienics. Lesscars.org emphasizes that the burning of fuel will give you health problems and nature problems. Lesscars states, “It is long since proved that the use of oil products releases more pollution into the air than the nature can take care of, increasing risks of both cancer and lung diseases” (4). The website’s point is that oil products increase the risks of cancer and lung diseases also the pollution goes into the atmosphere and create acid rain. This means that The oil products, gas vehicles use will damage the atmosphere and ruin crops and other natural materials.