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All States tax different rates on gas that's why it could be 3.33 in one state and 4.50 in another state
just like alcohol and tobacco gets taxed so does gas.
check out gasbuddy.com to find the cheapest gas prices in your area and to see the most expensive states in the nation and the cheapest states . South Carolina is close too people in Charlotte so that is an option for some to fill er up.
Don't remember if I already said this, but if I did, here it is again. In the 70's when there was the gas lines, gas stations closing, and opening because of " lack of supply", and all the other BS going on at that time, my Dad had his own light plane, so he and I flew out over Clear Lake City outside of the Houston area one day,and as we got out over the Gulf, we saw oil tankers backed up clear into the horizon, waiting to come into the Houston Ship Channel to unload crude. I remember counting 10 before they disappeared into the horizon smog. I had never seen anything like that before. There wasn't any " lack of supply". It was the old game of tighten the supply, and jack up the prices. This stands out in my mind because during that time our boss took it upon himself to let us, during work hours take a 30 minute run ( minus pay, of course) down to the U-Totem to fill up at the times the gas station would be open.
I haven't a clue for the spike in prices we are seeing now, except what I heard on NPR news the other day. The newscaster said that economists( capitalist speculators, my definition) were worried that IF war broke out in areas such as Libya, or Syria that it MIGHT spill over into Saudi Arabia, and that terrorists( catch-all word nowadays) COULD disrupt oil production that could POSSIBLY affect our supply line to the Middle East. I totally agree with everybody else that we have plenty of domestic oil right here at home. But we are at the mercy of the politicians, and Wall Street, and I see no way out, unless we turn our back on international trade, and become self-sufficient, but of course, that mind-set will likely never happen.
Don't remember if I already said this, but if I did, here it is again. In the 70's when there was the gas lines, gas stations closing, and opening because of " lack of supply", and all the other BS going on at that time, my Dad had his own light plane, so he and I flew out over Clear Lake City outside of the Houston area one day,and as we got out over the Gulf, we saw oil tankers backed up clear into the horizon, waiting to come into the Houston Ship Channel to unload crude. I remember counting 10 before they disappeared into the horizon smog. I had never seen anything like that before. There wasn't any " lack of supply". It was the old game of tighten the supply, and jack up the prices. This stands out in my mind because during that time our boss took it upon himself to let us, during work hours take a 30 minute run ( minus pay, of course) down to the U-Totem to fill up at the times the gas station would be open.
I haven't a clue for the spike in prices we are seeing now, except what I heard on NPR news the other day. The newscaster said that economists( capitalist speculators, my definition) were worried that IF war broke out in areas such as Libya, or Syria that it MIGHT spill over into Saudi Arabia, and that terrorists( catch-all word nowadays) COULD disrupt oil production that could POSSIBLY affect our supply line to the Middle East. I totally agree with everybody else that we have plenty of domestic oil right here at home. But we are at the mercy of the politicians, and Wall Street, and I see no way out, unless we turn our back on international trade, and become self-sufficient, but of course, that mind-set will likely never happen.
My Father in Law was in the Navy in the 70's and he told me the same story about the tankers. He said as soon as his ship went over the horizon there were tankers lined up for miles and miles.
Supply and demand indeed. Demand is fairly inelastic in part because of the way we've built our cities and because of the absence of alternatives. So, oil compnies can control supply...how much they pump out of the ground and refine. We've proven that we are willing to pay $4 a gallon (we have a choice?) -- they have no incentive to flood the markets with more supply to drive down prices. Add to this fossil fuel dependent transpotation, unmitigated speculation, the value of the dollar, and you have expensive fuel.
And NC has a high tax it imposes . . . which is the one thing that COULD be done to lower the cost of gas in this state. Not saying that is a good idea as far as the state budget goes, but it is a factor in the cost per gallon to the consumer.
I bought a car that uses E85 fuel b/c I thought that is the way we would be going in this country. Sadly, I can rarely even FIND the stuff.
I have been asking since the early 90s why our country was not concentrating on production of biofuels. Brazil and Argentina have certainly been successful manufacturing ethanol, but we decided to tie our production of biofuel to corn rather than sugar cane (politics at work - farm subsidies).
I would be very pleased to see this country follow South America's example and concentrate on biofuel production (while increasing oil exploration and development) and I find it puzzling that with rising costs of gasoline/oil . . . folks are not asking why we aren't doing just that.
E85 was manufactured by burning natural gas for the distillation process. It wasn't exactly the smartest plan in the world.
Perhaps not . . . but it was the alternative that was available to me at the time.
If we had been working on clean ways of manufacturing ethanol over the last 20 years, I feel certain innovative solutions to creating a product with low environmental impact could have been developed. It certainly would be wise to figure out how to fuel our vehicles with something available here in our own country and if we can't drill and pump enough oil to meet the need, then we should be looking at alternative fuels -- one of which could certainly be some form of biofuel.
Perhaps not . . . but it was the alternative that was available to me at the time.
If we had been working on clean ways of manufacturing ethanol over the last 20 years, I feel certain innovative solutions to creating a product with low environmental impact could have been developed. ....
For sure. They did it in Brazil which started on it at the same time we did here under Jimmy Carter. (remember gasohol?) Our plans were scrapped under the Reagan Administration, but Brazil soldiered on.
Now their automobiles, built primarily by GM & Ford can burn 100% ethanol, 100% gasoline, or any combination. It's allowed that country to avoid the issues with importing oil. They do import oil for gasoline, but they have the freedom to do it on their terms.
For sure. They did it in Brazil which started on it at the same time we did here under Jimmy Carter. (remember gasohol?) Our plans were scrapped under the Reagan Administration, but Brazil soldiered on.
Now their automobiles, built primarily by GM & Ford can burn 100% ethanol, 100% gasoline, or any combination. It's allowed that country to avoid the issues with importing oil. They do import oil for gasoline, but they have the freedom to do it on their terms.
I was so pleased that I could buy a car that used alternative fuel. It seemed such a good solution to me! I understand models like mine have been exported all over Brazil and Argentina.
Of course, the best solution would be an engine that runs on water . . . maybe Fulton was on the right track after all.
Of course, the best solution would be an engine that runs on water . . .
Hydrogen can be produced by running simple DC power through water. All we need to do is build a bunch of solar farms in the desert to produce H2 when the sun is shining, bottle it up and distribute. It makes a whole lot more sense than trying to get several thousand cell phone batteries to run automobiles for 30 miles which then need a 8 hour charge.
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