Today our series on gas prices continues with a look at how the whole economy is impacted:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-08/kuwait-says-opec-members-discussing-whether-to-have-an-urgent-meeting.html

As this article notes, what goes on in the Middle East impacts all of us here in America:

“Saudi Arabia and other OPEC members have pledged to ensure adequate supply to the market as violence in Libya reduced output from Africa’s third-largest crude producer. OPEC is also under pressure to assuage soaring fuel prices after New York- traded oil rallied yesterday to $105.44 a barrel, the highest closing price since September 2008 and was at $105.01 as of 1:51 p.m. London time.”

How big has the impact been in America? February saw stock market prices plunge, affecting everyone’s savings and investments. And what caused the plunge? High gas prices. Unfortunately, gas prices are likely to get higher before going lower.

So be prepared and start spreading the news about the need for domestic, renewable energy.

Today we continue our series on what high gas prices mean. And we focus on what they mean for the other parts of the economy:

http://communitypress.cincinnati.com/article/AB/20110303/BIZ01/303030081/1148/rss1020/High-diesel-costs-may-push-other-prices-up?odyssey=nav|head

In many ways, gasoline is the lifeblood of our entire economy. Energy is what drives our cars and fuels our homes and offices. So when gas prices go up, there is a ripple effect on everything.  Think about it: there is almost nothing in your life that is not impacted by gas. As this article notes, this is especially true for diesel which is what fuels the trucks that transport so many products to the marketplace:

“The typical big rig gets about 6 miles to the gallon and can carry anywhere from 150 to 300 gallons of fuel. That means a fillup can cost $1,098 today compared to $849 a year ago. In the longer run…higher fuel costs will be passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices for the goods delivered by trucks.”

This is the real danger: you and I will not only pay higher prices at the gas pump, but also at the store for everyday products we buy.

This is another reason why we need renewable energy here at home.

As we continue our series on renewable energy, we focus on national security:

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2009895,00.html?xid=rss-topstories#ixzz0wSBStNfY

As this article from Time points out, America needs to start getting off of foreign oil sooner rather than later:

“Moreover, lower U.S. consumption could reduce the international price of oil, which would decrease the funds flowing to the governments that depend heavily on oil revenue to finance policies unfriendly to the U.S. Foremost among those governments is Iran’s, which would have less money with which to build nuclear weapons and to support the terrorist organizations it sponsors. Another is Saudi Arabia’s, which uses its oil wealth to propagate an extreme form of Islamic fundamentalism known as Wahhabism, which has inspired many Middle Eastern terrorists, including those who attacked New York and Washington on 9/11. That means that by consuming so much oil, the U.S. is in effect fighting a war against terrorism while funding both sides.”

So renewable energy not only is good economic policy, it’s great national security policy.

This week USA Today ran a front page story about rising gas prices:

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/2010-03-08-gasoline-prices_N.htm

As the article notes:

“The national average price for a gallon of gasoline is up 9 cents in a month and will likely crack $3 in coming weeks, given a typical spring rally before the summer driving season, oil and gas analysts say.”

This still makes no sense to me. With the economy in a recession, people are driving less and therefore demand is less. So why are prices going up? The reason is because the gas market operates differently than other markets. A foreign oil cartel controls prices.

Isn’t it time we did something about that?

This week we are continuing our series on “what’s in the news” and we begin with oil prices:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126110607887196613.html

As the article notes:

“Oil prices have risen nearly 60% this year, thanks in part to OPEC production cuts. But the cartel faces problems heading into 2010. Some members, such as Iraq and Venezuela, are increasing output even as OPEC tries to purge a huge buildup of oil. And waning stimulus efforts could pinch consumer demand for oil in industrialized nations.”

In other words, even though we are experiencing a recession, oil prices are going up because OPEC has restricted production. So the question is: how long will we Americans allow OPEC to hold a gun to our heads?

The time has come for the US to quit importing its energy and start producing it right here and right now.