We can achieve lower gas prices

I told my son not long ago that when he is old enough to drive he will look fondly back on the days when you could buy a gallon of gas for $3. Shoot, I already am.

After all, getting gas for $2 a gallon is a distant memory, so far removed from present day that the next generation will roll their eyes when old-timers like us tell them how we used to get gas for $1, $2, or even $3 a gallon. Face it, the days of affordable fuel are gone forever. Pretty soon, as depressing as it is to think about it, we will be paying $4 and $5 a gallon.

It’s kind of depressing when you consider other places in the rest of the world are practically giving gas away. For instance, the price for a gallon of gas in Venezuela is 17 cents, and in Iran it’s 33 cents ‘ both countries who are helping extort us on the price of gas now. Our friends in Kuwait are getting a gallon for 78 cents, and for Egyptians it’s 93 cents a gallon. More in line with us we have the Russians, who are paying an average of $3.04 a gallon, and China paying $2.44 a gallon. This survey was conducted as we were paying an average of $3.22 a gallon here.

Now for the scary part where Canada is paying $4.35 a gallon, Italy $7.30 a gallon, Germany $7.32 a gallon, and Britain $7.72. The top price in the world is Turkey where they are paying $10 a gallon. Wonder why they are into it with the Kurds and their Iraqi oil reserves?

The bottom line is there are only a couple of things we can do to slow our march to becoming another Turkey, pardon the pun, and those are reducing consumption, tapping our own reserves, and coming up with alternative fuels. Any little bit helps.

Case in point, due to a slowdown in the economy, much of which has been caused by high fuel prices, people didn’t drive as much last quarter leading to a 1 percent drop in demand for gas in our country. That 1 percent drop, at least partially, led to a short-term freeze and drop of crude oil prices, which had been at $110 a barrel and dropped to below $100 a barrel.

It shows what even a slight drop in consumption in America can do on a global scale. However, the economy will not be in a slowdown forever, and people will travel over the summer, sending fuel prices skyrocketing again. And yes, during this time gas companies will continue making record profits so their rich investors can buy another mansion on the hill and Middle Eastern sheiks will continue amassing millions, much of which will go to terrorists who are wanting to kill all Americans. What can we do?

The answer isn’t traveling less, it’s traveling smarter. We hit on the answer back during the 1970s when we went to smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles. Until we go back to the fuel-efficient cars, we will see gas continue to climb to disgusting heights. However, converting over to more economical transportation takes time, even when auto makers are committed to providing such vehicles. So what can we do in the meantime?

First off, put the farmers to work having them grow obscene amounts of corn so we can make alternative fuels which are already being used in some markets. No, it can’t replace crude oil, but even if it could replace 2 or 3 percent of our needs, look what an impact it could make in overall fuel prices.

Second, let’s drill in Alaska. Hey, I like cuddly polar bears as much as the next guy, but polar bears aren’t helping pay the bills. Plus, they’d eat you on sight. But, most importantly it’s been shown such drilling can be done with minimal intrusion on the environment, so even tree huggers should be happy. As we speak, drilling is going on in Canada where they are literally sucking off some of our Alaskan reserves without destroying the environment.

Duane Sherrill is a reporter for the Standard. He can be reached at 473-2191 or by e-mail at [email protected].