Gas Prices were supposed to go down. What happened?

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Have you seen the prices at the gas pump in last month? Gone up by more than 20 cents in Rochester NY and in most other places. The projections were that it will continue to go down over the year since we have developed more domestic resources and  the demand is down.

What went wrong?

Middle East and some concerns for their impact on oil supply interruption could be reason. Iran defies the world and Syria has a civil war. Korea wants to build more missile launching capability and Palestinian crisis remains unsolved. So how can we get out of this dependence on importing oil from such places which is affected by what happens in these countries?

We are lucky to have Oil and Gas resources of our own and we have the technology to invent smart solutions for transforming how we use energy.
We should go full blast with developing our own petroleum resources now so we can Stop importing oil from foreign countries. As a condition for developing these resources by drilling for oil and natural gases we should impose an " energy Independence " Tax on developers to invest in renewable energy technology. These dedicated funds should be protected and be only used for renewable energy grants, tax incentives, and creation of low interest revolving loan funds.

Imagine our hybrid cars giving 50 miles per gallon, all of our homes using LED lights, Wind mills installed away from the shores to avoid visibility, solar PV  farms powering our communities.. this dream can come true in 10 years.

We need our National leaders to decide to act and take advantage of our natural resources to enable our Energy Independence. Write to them and ask to do what is right for our economy and global environment.

Plug in Hybrid- Buy now or Wait?

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So why should we buy a plug in hybrid?

Most of the buyers may be doing it because their heart says it is right thing to do. The mind  and most auto review experts say that  you will not get the return on investment for high cost of storage battery.  If it is all about money than stay with old technology and by a regular car that gives 40 miles per gallon. If you crave for energy independence some day than do it for the experience of joy of not using gasoline. With cost of storage batteries high most cars have small range. My Prius" plug in" takes me about 12 miles of pure pleasure of "Zero gasoline" range. I charge the car again at the office and then return home with zero use of gasoline. How do you price this feeling? The money saved from gasoline may only be worth $2.00 each day assuming the 50 miles per gallon for Prius. One has to experience the feeling as you see the gauge and find out that you reached the office in EV range and still have left over miles. Although I must admit that I wish it had the minimum 30 miles per charge range.

Each buyer should be considered as an investor in our future by creating the demand for these expensive cars.Some day the new battery storage technology will give us 300+mile range and filling station that can recharge in 15 minutes. That will be the day when Americans would not have to look at the gas stations price tags and just go past these conventional stations to parking lots, where electric charge station will do the job while you have lunch or shop in the store.

It is this dream that inspires the initial buyers of these hard to justify cars with the decision whether to buy the plug in or EV car?

Some decisions are made with passion in your heart and overlook the money calculations that shows how many years it takes to recover the extra money you paid for the plug in hybrid or EV technology. How do yo measure the Happiness in your heart or value of smile when you experience this new technology. I am loving it. Do not postpone to experience this for future.. It is only the present that counts.
Ram