The Answer to Rising Fuel Costs

Here in America we are very dependent on fuel. Everything we do in our lives is linked to burning fuel - driving to work, watching TV, heating our homes - the list is endless. While we can attempt to reduce our reliance on fuel - as many are - it's impossible to eliminate our need for fuel from our daily lives.

Most fuels are made manufactured from oil. There are only a few countries

The United States doesn't produce enough oil for itself. We import well over half of the oil we consume. This gives the countries that we import from far too much power, both politically and economically.

There are many things that contribute to the price of imported oil, one of them being the expense in getting the oil here to begin with. In addition, the foreign oil companies often form cartels. Agreeing on common prices and charges, these cartels eliminate competition and keep prices high.

The answer to lowering the cost of fuel is minimizing the role of foreign companies in the equation. These outside oil companies have no current reason to offer the U.S. competitive prices because we can't go anywhere else for the oil; they know we're stuck. American oil companies have no incentive to charge less than the foreign companies because they know all the oil they produce will be bought anyway.

America needs to drill more oil. There are many untouched reserves throughout our country, including many here in Alaska. At the urge of environmentalists, among other groups, the U.S. government has so heavily regulated the industry that it is almost impossible for domestic oil production to grow, and in fact, oil production is shrinking. In 2006 the U.S. produced 5,103,000 barrels of crude oil per day, representing the lowest domestic production number since 1949. In 2005 we consumed 20,802,000 barrels per day, the highest in recorded history.

It is now too expensive in our country to open a new refinery - America's newest oil refinery was built in 1976. The number of U.S. refineries in operation as of 2007 was 149