A Pain in the Pump

While picking up some dinner, my van let me know that it was on Empty and likely running on fumes. So, I filled up at the Chevron. Guess how much it cost?! $69!!!!!! It would have easily been more than $70 if I had consumed a few more fumes on the way. I couldn't believe it. It sucks. Not the van, the prices. I remember when I had my first car, a Ford Taurus. It cost $22 to fill it up and I could make it last 2 weeks. Sure, I was a teenager and didn't do as much running around as I do now. But this is ridiculous.

And the saddest part is that the solution to the high gas prices is actually pretty simple. All we would have to do to prompt an immediate decrease in fuel costs is if the majority of Americans just DIDN'T BUY GAS FOR ONE DAY! I know this isn't a new idea. There is a specific day designated each year for the boycott. However, just like anything else in life, it won't work if people don't participate. We have become so gas-greedy as a nation that we can't even give up the purchase for one day. Sure, people have jobs to commute to, kids to chauffeur, and lives to lead. But we're talking about one day here, people. One day is all it would take to rattle the wallets of the oil companies and encourage the government to lower prices. Unfortunately, the only thing that would make us all do this is if we had no choice, such as a natural disaster occurring and impeding our purchase and consumption.

Maybe, someday soon, we will realize that we, the people, hold all the power when it comes to the supply and demand of oil. I hope we realize it before it's $5 a gallon and it will cost $100 to fill up, each time.