If you drive a car (or a vehicle that takes petroleum products to run) then you are probably asking the question, "When are the gas prices going to stop going up?" Good question. I believe the United States as a whole is wondering the same thing. All I can say is that we don't have it as bad as some other countries.
What if you lived in Ireland? $4.78 (USD) per gallon. Frankfurt, Germany? $5.57 (USD). And what about Amsterdam? A whopping $6.48 (USD) per gallon! Now I have to admit, we don't have the highest gas prices in the world; but we are far from the lowest. In Russia the price is $2.10 (USD) and if you go to Caracas, Venezuela, you can expect somewhere around 12 cents per gallon!
So why are prices so high in some parts of the world and not in others? You can probably guess the answer: Governments. The US government is dealing with the governments from other countries. The policies are much different in other countries and most of the increase is directly related to taxation and policies in those other countries. In some of the smaller countries with lower prices, the refineries are run by the government. They don't have to tax the gasoline that they are producing.
What are the people and the government of the United States doing about it? Programs to increase gas mileage on newer cars, alternative fuels such as corn products and electricity, re-working the existing wells in the US and "friendlier" countries (US oil companies) and we are steadily working on relationships to increase trade with other countries.
I know it doesn't seem like it, but, in my opinion, there are many people and government officials doing what they can to get this under control. The prices are already starting to drop in various locations across the country.
One of the good points is that this is creating a considerable amount of motivation, innovation and creativity from several industries. The US was built on innovation and necessity. Some of the greatest minds in the world are coming up with fantastic solutions. You may have even experienced some personal creativity or problem solving. Does anyone reading this remember when gas was 5 cents a gallon? 25 cents? $1? It is amazing how we get complacent with our lives until something affects our comfort level. This time it was our pocket books.
What motivates you to create solutions? I feel that together as a nation, this and many other issues can be solved. We just have to let out our creativity; we all have it; we just don't use it as often as we could. Let your government know what you are thinking. Let them know your ideas; don't just ask them to fix it. It is all of our responsibility.
So, hang in there. Walk or ride a bike when you can, use mass transit if your city offers it and carpool (you might even enjoy the company).
