Tuesday, April 10, 2012

PAA: Kristian Stipe


How Does Gas Price effect my day to day life, outside of driving a car?

Everything, and I mean EVERYTHING is affected by the price of gas. The food you get at the grocery story was grown or raised using farm equipment that runs on oil, then it is processed using oil based machinery, after that it is packaged, usually in plastic which is petroleum based, after that is it shipped in large trucks or trains that run on oil. From there it is placed into plastic bags (even paper bags are affected by oil) then taken home where it is usually cooked, which is powered by electricity which is usually, but not always, produced from oil based products. Food is not the only thing that goes through this cycle. Lumber for your house, the cloths on your back, the roads you walk on, and everything in between is all affected directly by the price of gasoline.


The more we consume the more gas prices affect you. With record high gas prices we are starting to feel the tightening grip of the oil companies around our way of living. When gas prices drive the price of everything we come into contact with daily, who is to blame for the rising gas prices? Is it our fault for being so dependent on fossil fuels for so long? Or does the fault lye with the oil companies for bringing in record profits, even in a very low economy. Or should we blame the government for giving the oil companies subsidies, even though they rake in more and more money every single quarter. I don't believe that the fault lies with any one aspect. They are all to blame. In America we complain about high gas prices and yet, when looking at Europe, whose gas prices have been $4-$8 a gallon for a very long time now, we don't see a trend that will soon apply to us. What will Americans do when the price of gas reaches 8 dollars a gallon?

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