Yes, America, it's Labor Day weekend. The driving season will be coming to an end after Monday. Vacations will be done, at least for a while. So, that means gas prices will finally drop, right?
Well, folks, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but maybe not.
Gas prices have hovered around 3.55 a gallon nationally all summer. But due to the crises in Syria and Egypt, along with the bellicose language coming from Iran, it appears instead that the prices will be increasing, at least for the short term.
Presently, prices on Long Island are at 3.75 a gallon. In California, if you are in Sacramento, it is 3.47, in Los Angeles it's 3.75 and in Malibu, it's 3.90.
If you calculate a ten percent increase, that's a bump of almost 40 cents a gallon. For a vehicle with a 15 gallon tank, that's a $6.00 increase per fill up. If the troubles continue into the winter, and prices continue to climb, the pain at the pump will be worse.
Perhaps, now is the time to finally decide to built the Keystone pipeline (KXL). The Canadians are ready, the states in the central US are ready, Texas is ready. We need to wean ourselves from Mid East oil, Russian oil, even Brazilian oil.
Environmentalists need to make the concession that we now have the technology to extract oil and natural gas cleanly and efficiently. It's not 1973 anymore. And coal burning is no longer the dirty process it was in years past.
We have enough oil under our two countries according to geologists to last us well over a century. We have been dickering with alternative fuel sources since the first oil embargo in 1973 and we really are no closer now than we were then. We have developed the technology to utilize solar, wind and nuclear energy, but not safely for nuclear or cheaply for all these sources.
So, understand that energy independence equals national security. Because if we are not independent from those who control energy resources, how secure can we truly be?
After all, he who holds the gold makes the rules.
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