I was shocked and appalled last week when the skyrocketing price of gasoline topped $1.40 per litre. This is a 40% increase in less than two years! I had already complained bitterly about rising gasoline prices and the underhandedness with which gas companies treat their consumers less than two years ago when the price hit $1.06!
The rate of inflation is set at roughly 2% per year, but the drastic increase in the price of fuels makes the price of everything go up considerably. This poses a problem in a place where well-paying jobs are scarce and getting scarcer. In fact, many people are now earning less than they were ten years ago, but the cost of living keeps on going up at a speed which is impossible to keep up with.
It’s no secret that the oil companies are extremely greedy. On top of that, much of the world’s oil comes from countries with currently unstable governments, many of which produce terrorists in addition to producing oil. Many of them make unreasonable or even ridiculous demands in exchange for cheaper fuels simply because they can. They have North America and the western world by the balls and they know it.
It is truly unfortunate that North Americans are so strongly addicted to oil and the fuel from oils, when other power sources for transport should easily be made available But all of them were bought out and shelved by the oil companies.
Blaming the foreign sources doesn’t change the fact that these oil companies are very, very, very rich, and very, very, very greedy. They bring about environmental disaster and wreak environmental havoc almost as if they were holding the world for ransom, creating greater demand for petroleum-based fuels. The Plastics industry is also dependent on oils to make the polymers needed for use in the production of plastic products.
Maybe if I could stop driving, without all of the headaches and frustrations which come with public transportation, I would, but despite living in a city which has comparatively good public transportation, I still find using it to be excruciating, frustrating and time-wasting, especially when traveling to outlying areas. Of course, if the price of fuel keeps going up this drastically, the price of public transit fares will go up accordingly. So will the price of everything that needs to be transported, to the point of a total economic collapse.
It’s no secret that BP deliberately did not cap the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico for quite a long time, until the government of the USA, which included a lot of former BP employees, was forced to. They otherwise would have left the oil to spill into the Gulf killing all life in the Gulf of Mexico! The only reason I can think of is shear greed on BP’s part. BP would have an “accident” at the cost of the American taxpayer.
Corporations are in control, except that they are out of control. Chaos ensues, litigation happens, people get hurt, maimed and killed in the interest of a very small number of people acquiring their almighty dollars off of the backs of those who can no longer afford to get to work because the price of gasoline has gotten so ludicrously high.
* Photo by Cindy Lopez, photoshopping to update the price of gas two years later by Jason C. McLean
Well fortunately the Metro runs on Hydro power instead of gas.
There were electric cars in development nearly a century ago yet today all we can get are half-assed Hybrids. Trouble is nothing’s profitable like oil is.
Money. Money. Money. We’re gonna go back to the dark ages all because of money.
Diesel costs £1.40 in the uk. but thats in pounds not dollars…… costs me £70 to fill my car up, Luck its very economical!