Please respond to 1) and 2)
1)
The speculations around the sky rocketing gas prices lately have been due to what I believe is the scandal going on over the Ukraine and Russia’s attempt to resurrect the Soviet Union to what it was during its glory days before NATO and the dismantling of the Soviet Union. Besides the US’s own struggle with inflation and trying to recover from the COVID pandemic, according to news reports from CNN, the Ukraine is the location of a few major oil/gasoline pipelines. With Russia trying to regain its reign over the Ukraine, these pipelines have been restricted and closed off by both the Ukraine and Russia to try and cut the Ukraine off economically from the rest of the world. Russia has been ushering military into the Ukraine, forcing natives to flee to neighboring countries. With these challenges, the US along with other countries who get their oil/gasoline from these major pipelines in the Ukraine have been forced to use other sources contributing to the rise in gas/oil prices.
I personally have been struggling with the constant rise in gas prices as I am a student who travels 45 minutes one way to class everyday and 20 minutes one way to work. Gas prices in my area are now at a whopping $4.69 and putting $10 in your tank is now laughable. I remember the last time gas prices were this high in the US over a decade ago. I know things will level out again eventually, its just a financial strain for everyone especially with the rise in prices for practically everything else (food, water, clothes, services, etc).
2)
It seems crazy that this semester $4 for gas was a lot, and then all of a sudden everyone was wishing we’d go back to that being the high. A few times it seems like we’d reached the peak and the price would start to go back down again, but then it would rise just shortly after. I travel a bit while I’m home to see my golf coach, so i find myself filling up my tank a lot. The biggest shock was a few months ago, when I had to fill up close to i95 because I felt safer and was almost out of gas. I spent over $100 on gas, even with being cut off to only 18 gallons, and I was actually laughing it was so crazy. Since the rise in gas, I have definitely changed my driving habits by driving on Eco mode and not revving too much.
I always thought rising gas prices was a big issue here, and then my friend from England told me that their gas has always been around $12 per gallon with currency conversions. I wanted to look into why this is the case. According to BBC news, there are numerous reasons “petrol” is increasing in price at the moment. They say that the pandemic decreased the need for gas as business and people travelled less or were in lockdown. Once things opened up again, suppliers couldn’t keep up with the demand, which spiked the price. Also, they say the oil for petrol is paid in US dollars, and because the US dollar is stronger than the pound, it is more expensive for the UK.
Another big contributor for gas increases is the war in Ukraine. As countries continue to put sanctions or completely ban Russian oil, other suppliers have to make up for the demand. Russia is a big oil exporter, so this stretches the ability of other suppliers to make up for what Russia is not contributing anymore. It is further said that prices will probably not decrease until Russian oil is either compensated for or back in the equation.
An article from Weforum also says that oil suppliers are cautious to resupply the market too quickly at the moment.
Being that higher gas prices affects costs of travel, things, etc. a solution is needed. Russia is a huge exporter of oil, so I think a peace treaty or intervention from a global committee could greatly impact gas prices. Russia has also gotten out of hand at this point, and their original reasons for the Ukraine invasion seem to be eyewash. I think the situation has gone on too long, and has too big an impact on the global economy as well as many civilian lives. There are other small acts that individuals could do to help prices on a national level, but peace between Russia and Ukraine could be a major solution.
