Beech Tree News Network

Most of us have watched the rise of gasoline prices. It’s an unfortunate situation, hurting many. I have a friend who – when something unpleasant happens – will say, “It is what it is.” That is a fair assessment of gasoline prices.

Gasoline has not always been so important, but today it is very important. In 2015, Fuel Express posted “15 Fun Facts about Gasoline.” Some of those are listed below:

-Gasoline contains around 10% ethanol because in the early 1990s, the U.S. issued a Clean Air Act that required Americans to use oxygenated gasoline in order for it to burn cleaner in combustion engines.

-Roughly 19 gallons of gasoline can be refined from a barrel of oil (which contains around 42 gallons of crude oil).

-Drivers in the United States account for around 44% of the world’s gasoline consumption.

-Without added ethanol, a gallon of gasoline produces 19.64 pounds of carbon dioxide when burned. Diesel, on the other hand, produces 22.38 pounds.

-Fuel tax began with Herbert Hoover, who created a revenue bill after the stock market crash of 1929. The bill included taxes on personal income, estates, corporations, and sales. In 1932, the House of Representatives passed a version of the bill that included fuel.

-In 1859, the first U.S. oil well was dug in Titusville, Pennsylvania.

-The diesel engine was named after its inventor, Rudolf Diesel, not the fuel that it runs off of. It actually was originally designed to run off of peanut oil.

-Around 40% of all seaborne cargo is oil.

-Gasoline vapors are heavier than air, so they settle on the ground and travel like a liquid. Because of this, they often find their way into drains, basements, and sewer lines.

-Venezuela has the world’s largest oil reserve – 298 billion barrels. The U.S. only has 33 billion barrels.

Thinking about our gasoline situation, I asked friends and family, “How are you dealing with increasing gasoline prices? Do you try to be conservative with travel in any way?” Their responses are listed below:

-It has definitely changed my travel habits, even just running errands. I find myself trying to map out my driving to be more efficient and not just running to get something unless I need it right then.

-That’s easy. We don’t go anyplace we don’t have to go. If people stay home a few weeks, we might see these prices go down. Oil companies are greedy.

-The experience of gas rationing and rapid fuel cost increases in urban areas in the 1979/1980 timeframe might be an interesting comparison to today’s fuel cost increases. What worked then was limiting travel, car-pooling, public transit use, and cutting other budgetary expenses.

-There is nowhere in my life that I haven’t tried to be conservative. I just now started using the air conditioner in my car – I decided enough was enough.

-I’m driving my hybrid car everywhere.

-I don’t pay much attention to gas prices if I’m being perfectly honest. I have a Chevy Volt that is a hybrid electric car, which means that I get 50 “free” miles on a charge. Once those 50 miles have been used it kicks into gas. I hardly ever go 50 miles round trip from my house, so I haven’t used a drop of gas in a long time. When I do have to use gas, my car gets 50 mpg, so still really great! People always want to know how much it costs to charge my car at my house. It plugs into our regular garage outlet and costs $1 a day (added onto our electric bill), which means I don’t use gas, but it costs about $30 a month to drive my car. I’ll take that! I wouldn’t trade my car for the world right now. I hate that gas prices are causing hardship for others, but it hasn’t really affected us. We’ve been living and traveling normally.

-It does make you stop and think a bit more of the necessity of a trip. However, all in all, it hasn’t slowed me down much.

-I try to conserve when I can. I combine as many outings or errands as possible.

-It has not kept me from going where I want, but I am aware of trying to be efficient when driving, taking direct routes and combining necessary trips.

-I have a set amount I can spend on gas weekly. I try to conserve my fuel by not running my A/C and not making unnecessary trips. Essentially, I just don’t go as much.

-I don’t go anywhere unnecessarily. I used to drive my diesel truck on the weekends to take my wife out or when it was cleaned up. I drive my Sonoma 24/7 or my wife’s car unless I need to use the Dodge. It’s had maybe 250 miles put on it in the last two months.

-I go to the grocery and to church. My car is ten years old and has about 50,000 miles on it. So, obviously, I drive very little.

-Driving mostly consists of errands these days or giving rides to the kids. I try not to idle the car waiting for them especially with the air on.

American author Jack Canfield said, “I don’t blame or complain about things like the economy, the government, taxes, employees, gas prices, or any of the external things that I don’t have control over. The only thing I have control over is my response to these things” (Gas Prices Quotes - BrainyQuote). I try not to complain, but sometimes a complaint will slip out. I guess it is what it is.