By Toma Lynn Smith
The war in Iraq, hurricanes and greedy politicians are some of the recent theories out there to explain high gas prices.
Freshman psychology major Kayla Wilbert said last week’s rise in prices was due to Jefferson County schools being on spring break. They know when people are going to be traveling, she said. The question is, who are “they”?
Part of the answer is the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, which “is made up of 12 developing nations, whose economics rely on oil export revenues,” according to their Web site.
Those countries are Algeria, Angola, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Venezuela. Part of OPEC’s mission is, “Ensure the stabilization of oil prices in order to secure an efficient, economic and regular supply of petroleum to consumers.”
Another reason gas prices have risen is “Oil is bought and sold on commodity markets by major investors, traders and companies who make or use oil. Some days, more people want oil than the oil producers can provide – on those days, the prices go up,” stated news editor Mike Hudson of the automotive Web site, http://www.edmunds.com in his article, “Understanding Oil Prices: How They Impact the Price You Pay at the Pump.”
An April 12 front page article in the Courier-Journal “Area gas prices hit 2007 high” said “Louisville-area gasoline prices rose as high as $2.90 per gallon in some locations yesterday shortly after the federal government said the nation had less gas in storage than market analysts were expecting.”
Derrick Drake, a sophomore psychology major who commutes daily in his SUV to home, school and many days to work, said he had to work an extra day to keep his gas tank supplied.
Wilbert said, “It[ticks] me off.” She has had to limit her travel and carefully plan where she really needs to drive.
Gone are the days of just driving around.
Public transportation and bikes are looking more appealing to some.
If it makes American consumers feel any better, gas prices are going up globally month after month.
According to http://money.cnn.com in May 2006 in Hong Kong, China, gas was $6.54 a gallon in U.S. dollars.
At that same time in Caracas, Venezuela it was $.12 in U.S. dollars.
Here are tips from the Web site, http://www.consumerreports.org/. “Get going. Shut off the engine if you have to wait more than half a minute for someone.”
The next is to get regular gas.
“If your car specifies regular fuel, don’t get premium because you think your engine will run better.”
The other two are, “Watch tire inflation. A tire that is under inflated by only 2 pounds per square inch will increase fuel use by one percent,”
and, “Stay tuned. A poorly maintained engine can cut gas mileage 10 to 20 percent.”
To get further assistance, there is a useful Web site to visit, http://www.gasbuddy.com/, which “is a network of more than 179+ gas price information Web sites that helps you find low gasoline prices.”
Toma Lynn Smith is a junior majoring in communication. E-mail her at features@louisvillecardinal.com
