...Rising Gas Prices: A Better and Cleaner Earth Essay 2 Embry Riddle Aeronautical University Professor Christine Hansen English 123 May 22, 2007 Abstract The cost of gas has rapidly increased in the recent years. But what most people do not realize is that rising gas prices is a good thing. Most people see gas prices as a thing to hate but in reality it leads to major innovations. Not just better cars but a better environment. The future automotive industry is fueled by the cost of gas. If gas prices stayed low no one would do anything to change and make the future better. Rising Gas Prices: A Better and Cleaner Earth Everyone fells the pain of rising gas prices, but what most people don’t see is the good side. The more gas cost the less people will want to use it. This will lead to better fuel economy, alternate means of travel and ultimately to alternative fuel sources. Rising gas prices will ultimately be one of the greatest environmental events in the history of the human race. Gas prices have been rising for several different reasons including government regulation, low supply from refineries and low supply of crude oil. Gas prices are increasing at an alarming rate; according to the Department of Energy (2007, May 14), the current national average is $3.10. The price has increased over 43% from 2005. The price of one barrel of crud is above $60. These rapid rises in gas prices have already caused changes to the minds of Americans. According...
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...Why Gas Prices are higher in California than in other Parts of US English 123 James L Hicks Embry Riddle Aeronautical University Abstract The rising gasoline and oil prices have become a global concern since petroleum has many uses around the world and yet its prices have continued rising for the last sixty years. This paper sought to find out why gas prices are higher in California than in other parts of America. The literature reviewed showed that West gasoline market dominated by California is defined by tight balance between supply and demand. Other factors found to be contributing the escalating gas price in California include isolation of the state from other refining centers, market conditions including international demand, Wall Street speculation, poor policies leading to uncontrolled oil cartels, decline of oil production during technical failure, political interferences, and increasing prices of crude oil due to demand forces. Despite there being no quick solution to the challenge, temporary measures such as efficient use of the available resource while looking for alternative cheaper source of energy could alleviate the challenge. Why Gas Prices are Higher in California than in Other Parts of US The Rising gasoline and oil prices have today become a world concern (Garrington, 2012). More concerns are raised considering that petroleum is an important product whose price continues escalating for the last sixty...
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...Gas Prices and the Economy The marketplace of supply and demand determines the price of fuel. If demand grows or if supply decreases, there will be an increase in pricing. On the flip side, if demand declines or if there is a surge in supply in the market, there will be a decrease in pricing. If a retailer in the market prices its gas too high without regard to competitors’ pricing, consumers will take their business to the competitor with lower prices. If the retailer loses enough business due to higher pricing, they will lower the prices to be more competitive in order to retain customers. Retailer competition affects gas pricing which can be seen by price differences on stretches of highway with multiple gas retailers. More choices generally mean more competition for the retailers. Even though many retailers carry the gasoline of major oil companies, they are independent dealers of the product and can set prices as they wish. The cost of foreign trade is contributes to the rising cost; however, many other factors contribute to the pricing of gasoline which drastically affects buyers and sellers in the marketplace. According to the Chevron Corporation, like agricultural products, such as wheat and corn, and precious metals, such as silver and gold, crude oil is traded on the world market. Recently, crude oil prices have risen dramatically, driven by rising global demand and political instability in several oil producing countries (“The Price of Fuel…”). Since crude...
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...Rising Gas Prices COM/215 Luis A. Garcia June 20, 2011 Pamela J. McGlynn Rising gas prices This essay will show the effects of rising gas prices and how they will be at an all time high in the up coming years. One will read various viewpoints from United States Government officials, Law officials. One will also show how this raise in gas prices will have an impact on businesses and how the consumer will be affected in the long run. Gas prices are on the raise because of unrest in the middle east and because of this it directly affects the cost we pay at the pump to fuel our vehicles. The first viewpoints come from an article published by ABC news. The article was written by Maggy Patrick and Linsey Davis, They interviewed a former executive from the Shell Oil Company this executive is anticipating that gas prices could reach five to six dollars per gallon by 2012. is the founder and CEO of a nonprofit origination called Citizens for Affordable Energy, John Hofmeister was named president of a Houston-based Shell oil company in 2005 until he retired from the company in 2008, said he predicts the hikes by November 2012 due to the increase for gasoline worldwide. He also stated: (Sloan, 2011). “While demand is rising steadily, the world is struggling to increase production. Demand is approaching 90 million barrels per day, while only 85 million barrels are being produced. Today, gas prices are averaging at...
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...throughout the United States. Families like to take trips across country to experience the scenic routes of the freeway and discover places like the Grand Canyon, Route 66, and St. Louis Arch. Although people boycotting gasoline will not decrease the increasing price in gasoline, the demand for world oil is a cause in higher gasoline prices. Society would not be able to use transportation in vehicles if gasoline became extinct. People would have to resort to the old fashion method of transportation like riding a bicycle, walking, or creating an alternative method to mobilize their vehicles. Boycotting the increasing prices of gasoline through refusing to purchase will not lower the prices at the gas stations; however, the government has set in place a barter system to through export tangible goods with other countries for gasoline and oil. The prices of gasoline are increasing because the evolving changes of the world and the higher demand for world oil. According to “HPImpact: New research examines US trends in gasoline and vehicle use” (2007), motorists’ average mileage has gone down because the efficiencies of automotives have kept the average the United States household budgets at a steady rate despite the rising oil prices in the world....
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...Rising Gas Prices Tabitha Walter BUS 308 Statistics for Managers Dr. Larry Pace Rising Gas Prices Each day our company sends out several vehicles to make deliveries to our customers. These vehicles come in several different sizes and fuel cost varies with each vehicle. In the year 2000 gas prices averaged $1.51 per gallon and as of May 2012 the average gas price is $3.79 per gallon. This is an increase of $2.28 per gallon in the last ten years. There is a need to look forward to the next ten years and what realize what effects the rising prices could have on our company and how deliveries should be handled. The Bureau of Labor Statistics provides detailed information regarding fuel prices each yearly and monthly. In the last ten years it shows a trend that fuel prices are on the rise. The descriptive statistics that is included below gives fuel prices from January 2002 to May 2011. Using Mega-Stats the following calculations that display the mean, max, minimum and range for gas prices from January 2002 to May 2012. Descriptive statistics | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | count | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 10 | mean | 2.41791 | 2.47373 | 2.55455 | 2.58291 | 2.57709 | 2.48540 | sample standard deviation | 0.87457 | 0.87337 | 0.94335 | 1.00085 | 1.03673 | 1.08747 | sample variance | 0.76487 | 0.76278 | 0.88991 | 1.00170 | 1.07482 | 1.18260 | minimum | 1.123 | 1...
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...Today’s rising gas prices is a great concern for me in the economy we are in at the moment. The United States has a national debt level over 14trillion dollars and talk from many politicians is to raise taxes to pay for that debt. With that lingering in the back of our minds we have gas prices at the front. For many of us gas is a necessity to get from point A to B for many reasons such as, work, go to school, go to the grocery store, and doctor visits. These are reasons we cannot afford to miss and therefore must buy gas. College students are the ones that are being hit the hardest with rising gas prices. The majority of college students are on a tight budget as it is. Gas is rising towards $5 and that is even before summer prices hit. College students having to pay that just to get to school on top of paying for school, is insane. Along with the great possibility of taxes rising it is even harder and harder to live comfortably. If college students did not have it hard enough with trying to handle school loans, trying to eat somewhat healthy, basic essentials and now the even bigger worry of gas. With all that is going on in the world and with our own economy the government should give at least college students with some sort of break. I recently read an article talking about how California college students have little public transportation therefore forced to buy gas. The 3million California College Student are trying to cut cost other ways. Some were not buying food and trying...
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...many different elements that contribute to rising gasoline prices. The major cause for increasing gasoline prices has to do with refining capacity. Even if oil were inexpensive, we would still have a problem converting it into the gas that fuels our economy. That is what keeps the gas prices high. When gas supplies are short, due to an “inability to refine crude oil into gas efficiently,” prices increase. This is a component of supply and demand economics. In a positive aspect, rising gasoline prices do serve a purpose; they curtail usage so that we do not eventually run out of fuel. If gasoline continued to retain its cheap price, despite how much was available, people may pull up to their favorite gas station only to see caution tape around the pumps because frequent consumers would not curtail their consumption. Contrary to what some think, gasoline isn’t the only product refined from crude oil. In his article “Gas Prices Rising”, Matt Rosenberg wrote that, “Only about 51.4% of an oil barrel is used to make gasoline; the rest of the oil is used to make other products such as jet fuel, asphalt, road oil, heating oil and liquefied refinery gas” (Para 3, Rosenberg). This makes oil a high demand commodity around the world and because most countries don’t produce enough oil of their own, they have to import it from other countries that have more than they know what to do with. This also creates a global market in which prices can fluctuate depending on who needs oil and...
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...Stop Rising Gas Prices COMM/215 May 12, 2012 Stop Rising Gas Prices In 2012, the current national average for regular gas has risen from three dollars and 78 cents to more than four dollars a gallon in the last two months. What could be the cause of rising gas prices in America? Some may say that the war on terror is causing these rising gas prices you pay at the pump. Others may blame the shortage of oil. Truth be told, the government plays a tremendous role in your gas prices in America. The following paragraphs will detail the exact affects government plays on rising gas prices. Furthermore, ideas on how Americans can help fix this trend of government controlled gas prices are discussed For the past decade gas prices have climbed steeply and the pain at the pump has been no different. For every penny increase at the pump, $1.4 billion per year leaves your collective pockets, creating a drag on the sluggish “recovery.” How does this continue to happen? Who controls this and why won’t they listen to your cries? Simply put it is your government. At one time in 1979 the U.S. government fixed the price of gasoline at about $1.00 per gallon (Rockoff, 2012). So why can they not do this again? Some of you may think that the oil prices which drives gas cost to raise is because of supply and demand. That is wrong! Stiff regulations from the government and shot down proposals are the reason why you pay more at the pump. Your government is working with financial institutes and...
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...Running Head: GASOLINE AND OIL PRICES EFFECT ON AMERICANS Gasoline and Oil Prices Effect on Americans Cindy Gasoline and Oil Prices Effect on Americans A well-known fact to Americans is gasoline and oil prices have soared over the last several years. Virtually every American has made changes in their day-to-day life related to this higher cost. Even though gasoline/oil companies and the people who invest in them are making money, prices are too high; many Americans have to decide between buying gasoline and paying for their prescription medications, healthcare, mortgage, and food. The government needs to step in and set guidelines to prevent gas companies from raising prices so quickly. “While drivers have been painfully paying up at the pump, oil companies have been racking up eye-popping profits” (Krantz, 2005, ¶ 1). During the second quarter of this year, one gasoline/oil company recorded profits each minute were in excess of what an average American earns in one year. According to Clifford Krauss’ article in the New York Times, “Exxon’s profits were nearly $90,000 a minute over the quarter” (2008, ¶3). Mr. Krauss’ article also states, “Record earnings for Exxon, the world’s largest publicly traded oil company, have become routine as the surge of oil prices in recent years has filled its coffers” (2008, ¶2). This is only one company; the other oil companies are showing earnings of the same, if not more. Americans are scaling back on...
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...Are Rising Food Costs Related to Rising Fuel Costs? ECO 550 Dr. Isley Mary Thomas March 19, 2011 Are the rising food costs related to rising fuel costs? Not only does the rising costs of fuel cause an increase in prices, but the use of some crops to make biofuels also drives the cost of food up. High crude oil prices have fueled interest in finding alternative energy sources and reducing dependency on import oil supplies. The emergence of biofuels has given rise to an alternative market for a number of agriculture commodities. Fossil fuel is a general term for buried combustible geologic deposits of organic materials formed from decayed plants and animals that have been converted to crude oil, coal, natural gas, or heavy oils by exposure to heat and pressure in the earth’s crust over hundreds of millions of years. The burning of these fossil fuels is the largest source of emissions of carbon dioxide which is one of the greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming. Biofuels are transportation fuels like ethanol and biodiesel that are made from biomass materials. The fuels are usually blended with petroleum fuels, but can also be used alone. Using ethanol or biodiesel means we don’t burn quite as much fossil fuel. Biofuels...
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...Introduction to Macroeconomics 5 June 2011 High Gasoline Prices Cause and Effect Hurricanes, wars and all sorts of chaos could lead to shortages in our oil supply. These shortages would bring expected higher prices. But what happens when other factors are at work? The laws of supply and demand indicate “Quantity demanded rises as price falls, other things constant”. Or alternatively: “Quantity demanded falls as price rises, other things constant” (Colander 84). For some, it is easy to blame the speculators and separate them from the laws of supply and demand. In reality, speculators only changed who purchased the future supply. They did not change the principle fact that there was a shortage, albeit an artificially created one, but still a shortage. Until 2000 US energy futures were traded only on regulated exchanges within the US and they were subject to great oversight by the CFTC in order to detect price fixing and fraud. Recently, there has been a very large growth in trading contracts that look like futures contracts and are structured exactly the same. The only difference, these contracts are traded on an unregulated market. This unregulated OTC electronic market was exempt from CFTC oversight by a provision inserted in the late hours of the 106th Congress. Enron and many other large traders lobbied congress for this passage. By buying large quantities of futures contracts and pushing the prices higher speculators have given oil companies the incentive...
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... Page 3 Consumer Response to Changes in gas prices Page 3 Price Elasticity Page 4 Suppliers Response to Price Changes Page 4 Equilibrium Prices under low price elasticity Page 5 What Causes Gas Prices to Increase Page 6 Opportunity Cost Page 7 Conclusion Page 7 Introduction Prices are set by demand and supply. When supply falls, prices rise quickly. The demand for oil continues to hit a record high. Countries like China and India are consuming it more frequently as they industrialize, but cars and power factories. However, the supply of gasoline has been restricted by certain requirements forcing oil refiners to manufacture different gasoline for an assortment of purposes. The price of gasoline reflects producers’ costs and consumer’s willingness to pay. Gasoline prices tend to rise if the cost to produce and supply such commodity rises, or if people decide to buy less gas at the current price (when supply is greater than demand). The price of gasoline will stop rising or falling when a price is reached at which quantity demanded is equal to quantity supplied by producers, otherwise known as equilibrium. Consumer Response to changes in the price of gas 3 The rising price of gas will affect consumer spending rather than significantly impacting the amount of gasoline being purchased. The major aspect of the consumer life affected by the spike in gasoline prices is the change made to their expenditures...
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...to everyone around us regarding the pricing for oil and gas. This is a topic that concerns most people on this planet, why are the prices for gasoline so high and is it regarding the greed of oil producing companies to continue to keep rising the gasoline prices as high as possible. We will talk about the many reasons why these fluctuating pricing keeps occurring within our world market. Introduction: Gas and oil pricing is a constant irritate for many of us who are not happy about the high cost of fuel and why it remains high. We can use practical results that can provide evidence to this very contention of high fuel expense if we do the right research. These explanations can provide some examples of why the costs are constantly affected in our everyday life. When crude oil is produced it provides the cost per barrel depending on how many barrels it’s producing, therefore if the price is $ 80 dollars per gallon it may in fact cost the consumer the same amount by the cost of fuel per gallon. (Rising Gas Prices) Article Review of Cheaper Canadian Oil Not Reflected in Midwest Pump Prices The following information within this article relates that there is in fact a variable that continues to cause and affect our Oil and Gasoline pricing. These pricing effects can either the cost of oil per barrel; the higher the barrels are the higher the cost of fuel will be indicated. The biggest factor in the region's gas prices has been the partial shutdown of the Midwest's largest refinery...
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...annual average Henry Hub bid-week prices will remain below the 10-year average through at least 2013, with some volatility, but less than that seen in 2008. As of May 23, 2012, its projection for Henry Hub bid-week price was $2.50 in 2012 (compared with $3.99 in 2011), and $3.67 in 2013. Currency issues also have an effect on natural gas prices in the US. For example, should the value of the US dollar weaken against the Canadian dollar, the costs of Canadian natural gas could rise, which would put upward pressure on prices. This could increase the attractiveness of regions where production is more expensive, thus allowing additional supplies to enter the market and potentially limiting how high prices could go. Higher consumption seen in 2012 and in 2013 In its Short-Term Energy Outlook published June 12, 2012, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) projected that total natural gas consumption would increase by 4.3% in 2012 and 2.4% in 2013. Despite the warmer-than-usual winter and the slowdown in withdrawals, the EIA believes that the increase in electric power consumption of natural gas will dwarf the declines that it expects in the residential and commercial sectors. As a result, these people ask whether limited natural gas resources should be squandered on generating electricity when other inexpensive methods of generating power exist The EIA projected, in its Annual Energy Outlook 2012 Early Release, that total dry natural gas production would rise 3.0% in 2012...
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