Fuel Prices and You

A lot of people are concerned with the rising cost of fuel, from truckers to taxi drivers to bus companies to the general motoring public. There are some people that don't realize the full extent of the impact that rising fuel costs will have on them as an individual. The fact is fuel prices have almost doubled in the last five years and it will eventually cause a nationwide inflation on everything we purchase. So when you go to the store don't be surprised if you see the price of milk and bread and everything on the shelf start to rise.

Source: Energy Information Association

Source: OPEC

If you look at the above chart, you will notice a severe spike in fuel prices occuring. This affects everyone and I'll tell you how. The first thing that will happen is the drivers will pay more at the pump which will raise their operational costs. The truck drivers are then going to pass that cost on to the companies that they haul for in whats called a fuel surcharge to cover the added cost. The companies that are shipping products are going to pass that on to whomever they get paid buy be it retail sales or to a manufacturer who will in turn raise the retail sale price to cover the cost. So if you think you are not gonna be affected by fuel prices other than at the pump you are sadly mistaken.

I'm not sure why there hasn't been more vocalized concern for rising fuel prices than there already is, but there needs to be. Truckers have started organizing convoys on the capitol and other major cities to draw attention to this, and have even talked about strikes, which by the way would not be a good thing for anyone. Something needs to be done.

Some people say why don't we open up our oil reserves to control fuel prices. I believe this could help to fend of the rising prices, but it would only be a temporary fix. With the highest estimate of oil reserves in the United States only being 220 billion barrels, that would last at best 11 years. What we really need is to focus on the technology that will allow us to become oil independent. Biodiesel seems to be a promising method of improving our situation. Most biodiesel is virtually non-toxic, and produces much cleaner exhaust. Concerns have arisen though with the fact that most biodiesel is created using corn or soybeans, which could put a strain on food supplies. One little known method of biodiesel, that I personally would like to see more time invested in is using algae. Algea can be grown at wastewater treatment plants and other facilities already in use, which would use their waste resources to create a new resource. Its still in the very early stages of research but I think if we put some time into it, it could be well worth it. Check out the Algaculture link at the bottom for more information.

Another, immediate, action we can take is to reduce idling. Many trucks now have generators or APU's on them that run off the same diesel tank and use a fraction of the fuel it takes to idle the engine. Many states already have idling laws to restrict the idling of diesel trucks and for good reason. A truck can consume one gallon of gas per hour while idling. If you own your own truck I encourage you to invest in a generator or APU. It will pay for itself many times over. If you work for a company that doesn't use this technology, encourage them to do so, or even to open a company account with IdleAire. I have used IdleAire a few times and it is a pretty nice service. And for pete's sake don't idle your truck or run your generator when its not necessary. If its a nice day and you can sleep comfortably without it turn it off.

Im sure there will be more to follow on this topic, but I think I have provided a sufficient amount of information to show everyone just how important it is to be concerned and try to actively do something about our fuel consumption, fuel prices, and oil dependancy. I am shocked that this country is for the most part just sitting back and taking it. We need to act.

Algaculture

National Biodiesel Board

IdleAire