Patrick+L's+OpEd+Article

media type="file" key="patrickl-muckraker-2011.mp3" align="center" **Paying at the Pump** **By: Patrick L.** I drive up to the gas station to fill up my SUV on a regular basis and it sucks that gas prices are extremely high. Approaching the pump, I avoid scanning the price of gas on the large sign in front, but I know the price of gas is high. Unscrewing the nozzle off my gas tank, I can’t help but notice that the last person filled up on 20 gallons worth of gas valued at around $80. I don’t need to see the sign in front to know that gas is expensive. Neither does my wallet. For those of you that drive, you know what it’s like to shell out your hard-earned money to the gas pump. Sometimes it seems that everytime I need to fuel up, I feed every paycheck I earn to the gas companies. According to the Ventura County Star, gas prices in Ventura hit a $4 average, and prices are likely to increase. In a survey of 600 AAA members, 33 percent reduced the time spent driving due to the $4/gallon gas price, while 81 percent have cut back on necessary driving. This isn’t a bad idea, as we should be aware of the amount of money we spend on gas, and the amount of gas that is emitted from our cars into the air. Still, it is extremely frustrating to spend $20 at the gas pump weekly, as gas isn’t a want, but a necessity. Also, a common myth is that we are controlled by oil companies. As the consumer, we have the power to control these large corporations, and I often forget that. By cutting down, on gas consumption and unnecessary driving for a good period of time, the long term effects will be felt in the oil companies’ wallets. Plus, it will reduce gas emissions into the atmosphere. By doing this, it’s a win-win situation, on top of buying gas at the stations where it is cheapest. Until an alternative fuel source is found, we will continue to have to pay steep prices at the pump. Also, I will still be angry and irritated, along with countless other drivers, and hate that gas prices continue to be hiked up. But to overcome this, we should be smarter about where we buy gas and that we have control over oil companies, and not be controlled by the prices. But still, nobody likes the high price to pay for a tank of gas.