“Gas prices to hit $4 this summer!”  So predict oil futures forecasters. Shortly, refineries will start putting anti pollutant additives, which will elevate the price towards $4 a gallon sooner than later.  Of course, environmentalists will love, along with most of us I suppose, to pay those sky rocketing prices won’t we? Environmentalists would like for us to go back to the horse and buggy and bicycle days and to heck with the internal combustion engine.  So before you start blaming the oil companies, President Bush, Vice President Cheney, and Halliburton, don’t forget to throw into the mix environmentalists, Democrats, who don’t want us to drill in Alaska, the Gulf of Mexico and other oil rich areas in the United States nor build new refineries.  And, you can add into the gas gouging culprits now, stock investors who are pumping in lots of bucks into oil commodities. Boy, all of these guys have us where they want us don’t they?

I suppose Democrats think it’s those mean rich Republicans who are the cause of all this oil mess and will try to make voters believe that if we elect either Senator Clinton or Senator Obama, oil will roll back to $50 a barrel. Please, don’t make me laugh.  Having said that, did ya’ll notice that during this year’s Presidential debates on both sides mind you, no one asked the candidates how they would help reduce the high cost of oil related products. Wonder why?  Folks, politicians don’t have a clue of how to stop oil prices from continuing to spiral upwards.  They, in my humble opinion are part of the problem rather than the solution.

To be honest about it I feel for families who have to drive their children to school, provide transportation for them to attend high school, college, and never mind the parents having to drive to work.  These folks are in a world of hurt in their hip pockets.  At this point let me illustrate the ineptness of government intervention on this alternative fuel business: fuel from corn, air, solar, etc.  None of these government-sponsored alternatives have worked significantly.  And, there are a few unexpected catches, particularly regarding biofuels like corn-based ethanol: the more corn is used in ethanol production, the less is available for food ? a reality that partly accounts for the recent run-up in world food prices. Moreover, most of the 6 billion gallons of ethanol produced annually in the United States comes from corn, but there's not enough corn available to make it a viable long-term source.  To add injury to insult, we, the taxpayers, subsidize farmers to raise corn supposedly to wean us from oil.  Then, as more farmers raise more corn for ethanol, fewer farmers raise other necessary crops like wheat, oats, etc., making consumers pay more for bread and other flour related products.  Notice how much eggs, milk, and corn chips have increased in price?  Well guess what, feed for cattle, chickens and hogs has also skyrocketed upwards, and thus, we the bread earners now have to pay more for the bread we put on the table.  Don’t you just love the way Washington screws things up?

Now that the oil companies and politicians have us, the oil consuming public in a terrible fix, what can we do about it?  In reality, nothing!  However, and I think it would be a good start if we elected more politicians who would ignore the demands of environmentalists and pass legislation that would allow us to start drilling and building more refineries here in the USA.

Though I’m in the same boat as everyone who drives, and gas now over $3 a gallon, I’ve changed my driving habits dramatically.  Though I’m retired, as is my wife, we now plan our car excursions carefully. We own two vehicles: a Toyota Tacoma truck and a Toyota Camry.  The truck gets 18 mpg in town and 24 mpg on the highway.  The Camry gets 27 mpg in town and 35 mpg on the highway. Guess which vehicle I drive? You got it.  Folks, here I hate to brag, but I live in a great little city, Lake Worth, Texas.  Within 10 to 20 minutes of my home are countless of stores, restaurants, assorted shops, my insurance provider, a Post Office, and my financial advisor’s office. Almost daily I go to Wal-Marts, and periodically to Target, Jack In A Box, Pet Smart, and Home Depot. Guess which vehicle I use to go shop?  Wrong!  I use my Footmobile, that is, my feet and my now skinny from walking too much, my legs.  And guess how many miles I get with me walking?  Folks, I get 3 to 5 miles per one beef and bean burrito and sometimes 6 miles per small cheeseburger.  Bottom line: start walking if you can to save gas, shed some pounds, and improve your overall health.  Hey, look at the positive side of this sad situation we gas consuming customers find ourselves in.

This past week I drove my wife to have her annual eye examination.  As I sat in the optometrist’s office, I came upon a medical publication targeted for diabetics.  A piece in the magazine written by a physician clearly confirms my earlier advice on walking.  The physician stated that if Type 1 and Type 2 diabetics would walk briskly at least 4 to 5 days a week for 25 to 30 minutes, most would significantly control and possibly even eliminate some of the medications to control this silent by deadly disease.  Ladies and gentlemen, there are 20.8 million people, or 7 percent of the population of our fellow citizens who have diabetes.  Though I hate to say this, maybe this $3 to maybe $4 per gallon gasoline is not so bad after all if it forces many of us to start using our Footmobiles instead of our autos.

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