Substantial Commentary #2

In the recent article Oil Prices Pass Record Set in ’80s, published on March 3rd,2008 in The New York Times it talks about how gas prices are rising to $4 dollars a gallon by the summer of 2008. What is going to happen by the summer of 2009? Are gas prices going to increase to $5 dollars gallon. I would not be surprised that if in five years from now gas prices rose to $10 a gallon. Oil prices have risen to an all time record since the sharp rise that started eight years ago. Since 2000, oil prices have more than quadrupled as strong growth in demand from the United States and Asia outstripped the ability of oil producers to increase their output. Supposedly there is evidence that these high prices are finally forcing consumers to cut down on consumption. However, I don't think this cut in consumption by consumers is sufficient to make a huge difference in gas prices.

Gas is a necessity, we as human beings are interdependent. We depend on our own transportation to get us from point A to point B. The percentage of people using public transportation has gone down. While the government creates "stimulus" packages to help our economy, they ignore something as simple as rising energy prices. Energy prices, such as the cost of gas, are so fundamental to our country's infrastructure that it's easy to say that oil is the lifeblood of our country. And with prices that high, its no wonder that our economy is sluggish. Our blood is more expensive than it used to be.

It is easy for the oil companies to raise gas prices.They point to the increase in demand from China and India, meanwhile, they are reporting record earnings and profits. The president and the house figure out plans such as the stimulus package to build the economy, but they can't think of any ideas to keep gas prices down and help the economy. They also refuse to sufficiently invest in developing alternative fuel sources.

What about refineries? Spikes in gas prices can also be traced to the fact that there are not enough refineries in this country.The existing refineries are working at full capacity and some are quite old. The government can solve some of these problems by taking a few steps. The money that we use on the Iraq war can be used to build better refineries. We can also use some of the money to develop other energy sources. The demand for oil is growing in other countries and the fact that we are in competition with China does not help There are so many alternative solutions that we can follow, but in reality, how far does our opinion take us.

To access the article click on the link below.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/03/business/worldbusiness/03cnd-oil.html?hp