Gas Prices

Enough already. Gas prices are getting a little ridiculous. The average price for a gallon of gas in the United States has reached $4.90. Heaven forbid you are a trucker and are forced to pay $6 per gallon for Diesel. President Bush went to Saudi Arabia last week and requested that the Saudis increase oil output to lessen the burden on our economy. The Saudis declined, after all, they just increased output by 300 million barrels per day last month. The legislators in the US have the answer at their fingertips but they refuse to pull the trigger. Oil is now at well over $125 per barrel. That $125 price tag represents the future of oil prices, so you can count on your wallet hemorrhaging even more dollars at the pump for the foreseeable future. Unless, of course, the US legislators in Washington decide to pony up and actually do their job. There is enough oil located off the coasts of North Carolina, Texas, California, and Washington to supply us with gasoline for several years. Recently, scientists located oil pockets in North Dakota that rival some of those in Saudi Arabia. Not to mention all of the natural gas located in these places. The Alaska National Wildlife Refuge currently contains enough oil for the US to be completely self sufficient for the next 50-75 years depending on the estimate. 50-75 YEARS!! That should be plenty of time for us to invent new technology and explore new ways to power our cars. Can you imagine what would happen to the price of a barrel of oil if the US were to even suggest that we begin to drill in ANWR? The speculators might drop the price by 30-40%. If that much supply all of a sudden flooded the market, prices would have no choice but to plummet. I know what you are thinking; ANWR is a beautiful place filled with rare and endangered species. Drilling there will further damage habitats of already suffering animals. Let me ask you this question then. Is any polar bear population worth even one child going to bed hungry because daddy's trucking company went out of business due to the rising diesel cost? The picture posted here is of ANWR. Far from the veritable "Garden of Eden" that some environmentalists would have you believe. The Senate and the House need to get off their ass and start looking out for the people that put them in office in the first place. I would love to see a public vote on a bill proposing drilling in ANWR and for the representatives to explain themselves if they vote against it. Ideally, we would have cars that do not run on gasoline and houses that don't rely on natural gas, however, we are not there yet and until we are, let's start looking at real options before our economy tanks due to our stubbornness.