Jane Price Hill, PE, MBA
|How Have Gasoline Prices Really Changed
Over the Last Thirty Years?
Many people associate the price at the pump as the indicator of relevant energy
costs. That is probably because gasoline is the energy product that they most
often encounter for purchase. Bills for electricity and gas come monthly, but
commuters purchase gasoline far more often. Especially in cities like Atlanta, with
average commutes exceeding fifty miles per day roundtrip, gasoline takes a huge
bite out of budgets.
Simply ask your friends and colleagues how much the price of gasoline is up, and
they will almost always respond with extreme increases and pessimistic estimates
of future prices. However, the graph below illustrates that while gasoline prices
have certainly increased during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan—with a dip during
the economic downturn when demand for petroleum products plummeted—the
price of gasoline today in real (inflation adjusted) dollars is about the same as in
1980. While we enjoyed favorable prices during the years from 1986 through 2001,
many factors including increases in worldwide demand for refined petroleum
products and uncertainty because of conflicts in the Middle East have driven
gasoline prices back up to those of Cold War days. The largest increases
occurred during the period from 2002 through 2008 when prices increased 50
percent in real terms and 87 percent in nominal terms.
Disclaimer: the opinions on this page do not necessarily represent the views of the owner of the website, but rather a range of
perspectives. All articles are documented, but as with any article, before forming an opinion the reader should always ask: (1) does the
article make sense? (2) are the sources reliable? and (3) is there a bias that would benefit particular the author or his/her constituents,
business interest, or associates?
EPA brings 'clean power' plan to Atlanta.
Will it hurt Georgia?
July 27 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News
and Kristina Torres The Atlanta
Atlanta this week will host one of just four
national public hearings on the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency's "clean
power" plan to reduce domestic
greenhouse gas emissions nationwide. The
outcome will interest anyone in Georgia
who flips a light switch and pays an electric
bill and anyone who suffers from air
pollution based health problems.
The proposed EPA rules would place new
limits on carbon emissions from power
plants in Georgia and across the nation,
although it particularly resonates in the
Atlanta region where the burning of fossil
fuels--by vehicles, industry, and power
plants--has produced significant
smog-related health problems.
The EPA has already received nearly 300,000
written comments on the proposal, and it is
expecting as many as 1,600 people to testify
during the four hearings.
Federal sale will be a record for offshore
Nov 25 - McClatchy-Tribune Content Agency LLC
The federal government said Monday that it
will hold its largest-ever competitive lease
sale for offshore wind development. The
Interior Department said it will allow a
dozen developers to bid on access to more
than 742,000 acres off the coast of
Massachusetts starting in January, 2015.
If fully developed, the area could support
as much as five gigawatts of commercial