1) This morning, I drove past the gas station that mentioned in this blog:

http://www.humzoo.com/billpearch/blog/16/

The price was up to $3.72.

2) Ok, I will try to explain the rise in gas prices as simply as possible. It really isnt that complex to understand.

The OPEC countries, although rich in oil, actually limit the amount of supply per day that they will sell to others. So, if you have a lemonade stand and only have 3 glasses of lemonade left and 5 thirsty people come up and want those 3 glasses, you will offer the remaining 3 glasses to the highest bidders. So instead of getting 10 cents per glass, you might get $2.00 per glass. It is called the law of supply and demand.

Now here in the US, our demand for oil and gas really hasnt grown that much over the past 5 years. Americans are actually conserving more energy. But, China and India are rapidly growing countries and now they need the OPEC oil just like we do. So we basically are in a bidding war with the rest of the world.

Not to make things complex, but there is one little wrinkle to this situation. Our dollar is going downhill because we are in debt. What that means is that the Euro will buy around 1.5 dollars today. In the past, it was the opposite. So, with our falling dollar, we need to pay even more for a barrel of oil to OPEC.

It doesnt end there. The ultimate bottleneck is converting the thick crude oil (which yesterday was around $120/barrel) to gasoline. Many states have different requirements for the amount of emissions that each gallon of gas can emit. California's requirements are much more stringent than say, Illinois'. So, the refineries must make subtle changes to each barrel that is processed. This costs money and time. That is typically why, you see California gas prices much higher than say the midwest.

But here is the real kicker. The US hasnt built a new refinery since the late 80s. So, we are constantly around 99.9% capacity. If there is a fire at a refinery or the refinery shuts down for any amount of time then gas prices will spike as the gasoline (as opposed to the crude oil) supply will immediately become out of whack. This is why you might see a 40Cent jump in gas prices over night.

So, the answer, in my mind to address rising gas prices is the following: 1. Increase domestic crude oil supply. That means drilling here in the US and the golf of Mexico. 2. Increase the number of refineries immediately. 3. Increase nuclear power (which by the way, produces ZERO emmissions. 4. Increase alternative energy supplies. 5. Stop overspending to bring up the value of the dollar.

If we can do these 5 things, we will be fine. If we dont, we are toast.

3) You would think with the BILLIONS of dollars in profits that the gasoline companies reported last year they would be "johnny on the spot" to build some updated refineries.....AND AMEN brother, on the drill in the US! Damn the trees (plow down that poligamist cult compound where they confiscated all those children and plant some new trees there!). Don't get me wrong I support the Kyoto Treaty, however, there HAS to be a happy medium.....

4) I like suggestion # 4. And about #3, Nuclear energy isn't as clean as you think when you consider the mining and milling of uranium...not to mention the disposal of nuclear waste...please read http://www.citizen.org/cmep/energy_enviro_nuclear/nucle...

5) $3.68 today in CT. Predicted to be $4.00 by June 1.

6) Not too long ago I thought that I would be able to save a significant amount of fuel by riding my bike to work instead of driving. Over the past two years, I have ridden about 2700 miles, which is equivalent to roughly 120 gallons of gas. That's about 5 gallons per month. Not bad, but it's a drop in the bucket.

I can't ride my bike much more than I do now, and many people aren't in a situation where they can either ride a bike or get to work somehow other than driving. Busses and trains sound good if you're lucky enough to live on a route, but in many cases they take longer than driving.

It's hard to see a major change in our car-centered lifestyle, and shaving a few MPG off all cars' fuel efficiency ratings in 10 years is not going to solve the problem. We need major change on this issue, but I feel it's most likely a change that none of us are prepared to make. It's much easier for people to accept high gas prices than to try and change our whole transportation system.

I would love to see cities that didn't have so many roads, but instead had wider sidewalks / bike paths that people could use to get around. Put a couple roads underground if you must, but it'd be nice to see a city that didn't look like buildings floating on islands of land between a never-ending grid of pavement. It's ridiculous what percentage of our land is used to accommodate automobile travel.

Ok I'll stop now. Sorry for hijacking your blog.

7) Dave -- I so totally agree with your post! I don't often hear similar sentiments to my own on this, and it's nice to see someone else lay it out.

8) A few tips on gas I've been following....Apparently gas prices tend to be cheapest on Weds morning. This is because the price settles from a weekend on not trading. I true upside down hump day. After I heard this I began to take note and for the past few weeks it has tended to be true. So keep an eye out for weds morning gas prices....it seems they may be the lowest of the week.

9) It might sound crazy but we won't change our ways unless it hits us in the pocket. We can hear Al Gore, UNEP, and the EPA all day long and still go out and buy Hummers. These high gas prices will push us into better public transportation, more hybrid cars, more alternative energy and get more people on their bikes. Just ask England about high gas prices.

10) I agree, Sarah, we don't ever make these kind of changes without being forced to. We like our comfort, technology and lifestyle too much. And, believe me, I include myself in that we!
This is not to say I don't think we need some short term solutions. People are hurting. But we need to begin now on long term solutions and stay with them, even if the "oil crisis" ends - which I don't think will happen anyway. The 21st century is truly a new world.

11) I cried when gas went over 2.50/gallon two weeks after I bought my beautiful Explorer with enough room for four car seats. A year later I traded my Explorer for a Focus (a considerable downsize) as I just couldn't justify the gas milage on the Explorer and it came down to going broke to visit my grands.We have really tried to not drive our cars and to limit going into Winston as much as possible. When it hit 3.45, I just sat there and thought , "Now what am I going to do?" I use my cruise as much as possible. I keep my car tuned up. Fortunately, we can walk to several key places, post office, drugstore, doctor etc.I can't ride a bike due to bad back but I am considering a little scooter to go back and forth to the graocery store.I have decided to buy a supply of mesh bags to use for shopping. We kept our heat set at 62 and wore sweaters all winter and now we will set the air at 78. I am not using the air in my car as much as I can stand.I have reluctnantly reduced the trips to Huntersville and Wilmington-we changed mopst of our light bulbs to those awful spiral jobs.....Help!

12) I don't have a far drive to work and i rarely leave york anyway so gas prices have not affected me that much but i have considered converting my car engine to accept vegetable oil to run on then filtering the old grease from my fryers to fuel it. i don't know if it's worth my time/money b/c i a) don't know if i go through enough oil each week to even bother b) don't know what it would take to filter the used oil and c) don't know how much it would cost to buy the converter and have it installed. anybody know anything about this?

13) You can buy conversion kits pretty cheap, less than a grand, and it's easy to install. I haven't installed one since Ive never had a diesel, but I've seen it done a few times. Even at $1,000 you could pay that back pretty quick with free veg oil. If you have a fryer at your restaurant you would be set for life. The kits are really just an extra tank and some fuel lines. The nicer ones have auto temp sensors that switch the veg and diesel at start and shut-off, but you can do it manually with a switch for really cheap. This is a good website resource:
http://www.greasecar.com/

14) I have been trying to find ways to cut back. Already, we have stopped driving our truck and now my hubby and I now ride together (which has resulted in ugly fights about who can control the radio). I tried taking the bus one morning but the timing did not work out well at all.

My biggest hurdle so far is wondering how I can transport two kids as well. I mean, will the bus stop off at my parents so I can drop the kids off and will they take my by there to pick them up? Also, when the school calls saying that my dear boy is sick, can the bus come and pick me up and get me to the school in record time?

15) Hi Ericka, you definitely have valid concerns. I ride the bus here in NC but there are buses on my route that go all day long. I also drive to the busstop right down the street from where I live and a 1/2 mile from my daughter's daycare. My husband does the dropping off at daycare and I pick her up after I get off of the bus in the evening. Works for us, but sometimes public transportation can get a little messy with kids and bus schedules. I would look into what the city has to offer and just see how it works out.