f you're anything like me, you have begun to scoff, balk, and even swear at the gas prices as you pull up to the gas stations these days. And if you're like most Americans filling up at the pump, you're wondering two things: 1) what the heck is up? and 2) how long is this going to last?
Well besides the gas prices, what is up is a combination of factors. The first and most obvious is the unrest and upheaval in the Middle East. This may seem straight forward as in, "oh, they're raising our prices because all hell has broken loose," but it's not that simple. It might surprise you to know that the United States receives most of its oil from the western hemisphere, namely Canada (about 18%) and Mexico (about 11%). What is more so, only 11% of our oil is coming from the Middle East. So, if we aren't even getting the majority of our oil from them, how do their problems effect our gas prices?
In short, with today's global economy, even the slightest civil conflict in a seemingly insignificant country can cause a ripple effect. Other countries, such as China, do receive most, if not all, of their oil from Middle Eastern and African countries, like Libya. So when these countries face this kind of conflict, it sends countries like China scrambling for other resources. Once they start dipping into our pot it drives up demand and our prices.
Unfortunately, being so Americentric with our dependence on oil, we often fail to see the bigger picture. The people in these countries are fighting for change and the kind of freedom that we are so accustomed to and still fight for to this day. If we as a nation took it upon ourselves to squelch our thirst for oil by finding other alternatives, we might have a different perspective on these possible revolutions.
