This week, I decided to take a break from renewable energy and highlight a related issue.  Unless you’re living under a rock, odds are you’re familiar with the current high gas prices in the United States.  The gas prices as of the beginning of this month were at a national average of $4.32. This number has officially reached an all-time high only to be rivaled by the gas price spike in 2008 of $4.11.  The gas price has been steadily rising since 2020 with several exponential increases. Why are these gas prices rising?

The ironic part of the current gas price is the current cost of crude oil. In 2020, Oil reached a price of around $12 a barrel. Following the dip, the price rose steadily over the next year and a half. When the United States Domestic oil pipelines were shut down in 2021, oil prices surged in the United States. Instead of deterring people from using petroleum, the shutdown of some domestic oil production forced the united states to look overseas to fill their demand gap. It’s important to note that all of this oil turmoil was taking place during our current period of rapid inflation. Inflation has now reached a 20 year high as our economy struggles to fix itself.

Russia used to supply 8% of America’s oil. America has banned the import of Russian oil due to the ongoing conflict with Ukraine. Between inflation, domestic oil retardation, and the ban on Russian oil, gas prices have soured with oil. President Biden has recently released large quantities of oil from the US reserves. The release of oil for domestic use has actually helped stabilize and even lower the price of crude oil per barrel to around $90. Despite the cost of crude oil going down, gas prices keep going up.

The crack spread is the difference between the cost of crude oil and the cost of petroleum. With the price of oil decreasing while the petroleum price soars, the crack is increasing. This means that the current efforts to reduce gas prices are falling.

The nation’s best economists have been on the case. The issue seems to be in a rut. With respect to renewable energy, this whole instance goes to show that we are not ready to solely rely on it. Electric cars have been making a splash but there are still many people who drive standard gasoline cars. Until we know we can rely solely on renewable energy, we shouldn’t mess with our essential fossil fuel consumption.