What do the rising price of meat products, dairy products, vegetables, cereal and nearly everything in the hardware store, including lumber, have in common? Oil. A barrel of oil is refined into diesel, gasoline, jet fuel and aviation gas. It is utilized in manufacturing plastics, synthetic materials, asphalt, lubricants, roofing, trash bags and the list goes on. Therefore, when the cost of a barrel of oil increases, the cost of goods increases through the manufacturing or the delivery of these products.
As of this writing, a barrel of oil has doubled in price in the last 12 months. Today, we are all experiencing inflationary times, with nearly everything we consume costing more and more. Gasoline prices are through the roof, costing Americans more weekly travel expenses.
What is the solution? First, let’s look for the common denominator. What powers almost everything we use? Fuel. Everything that sits on the shelves of our grocery stores is delivered by a diesel-powered truck. These trucks’ diesel fuel is purchased at service stations across our country that obtain their fuel from diesel-powered tanker trucks; when the fuel price rises, the items transported become more expensive.
All of this occurs because fuel prices are the common denominator in escalating prices. None of this is rocket science. Of course, there are other pieces to the inflationary equation, such as monetary devaluation, but fuel is the root cause of the increased cost of goods.
How do we fix it? Is an electric car the answer? Do electric vehicles deliver our goods and services? No. Do electric vehicles work in the earth-moving industry to mine lithium for electric vehicle batteries? No. Are electric vehicles more environmentally friendly than petroleum-based vehicles? Recent studies have shown that they are not when the battery manufacturing and disposal process is considered.
If everything was electrically powered, would our existing electrical grid have the ability to charge all of these batteries? Of course not. Utility companies are already talking about rolling blackouts for the summer months due to the inability of our current grid to handle the load we have now.
The bottom line is that the requirement for inexpensive fuel is crucial to our everyday commerce’s health and well-being to function correctly. Fuel is the common denominator in almost all activities. Why did our administration virtually shut down our oil and gas industry and then venture out to other countries to beg them to increase oil production? How does oil production in other countries help so-called global warming?
The question isn’t “Do you believe in global warming?” It should be “Is global warming caused by human activity?” Global warming is here to stay and there is absolutely nothing the human race can do about it. Have you ever seen anyone control the weather? The great ice age occurred before humans roamed the Earth. Just how did that happen?
The strangest and most unexplained position on energy that our administration has taken boggles the mind, and all of us are stuck paying for it. This administration has promoted the use of solar and wind to produce power in our country. These new green energy sources would supposedly answer the lack of grid energy and lower energy costs. Unfortunately, none of this has happened and likely never will.
Countries that conquered widespread energy issues have built genuinely green energy sources with nuclear power plants. Nuclear power, unlike solar and wind, is 24/7. We must incentivize more oil and gas exploration and refinement in our country and promote the construction of nuclear power plants. The answer is not only the elucidation of the common denominator but simple common-sense policies.
The opinions expressed above belong solely to the author and do not represent the views of the Boulder City Review. They have been edited solely for grammar, spelling and style, and have not been checked for accuracy of the viewpoints.
G. Kevin Savord is currently a professional pilot and former small business owner. He can be reached at gksavord@gmail.com.