The big oil companies may not have anything to do with the price of crude oil - and I'm not conceding this point - but I do find it hard to believe that they don't have a heavy hand in setting the price of gasoline at the pumps.  If that were true, they only way to explain the record profits they have made the past few years would be that we are all buying a lot more gas.  With the prices, I find that hard to believe.  Many people have reported cutting back on vacations, unnecessary trips, and even increased usage of public transportation in major cities.  Hummer H2 sales were down 46% in February, SUV sales across the board were down 20%. Last year, hybrid sales were up 38%.  We should be buying less gas, but the profits seem to be going up sharply.

Of course, that is capitalism at work.  I don't begrudge the oil companies their profits - they are entitled to make money (just like the rest of us) and this energy market seems to be in their favor.  However, I don't quite believe that they don't have something to do with the prices.

Regardless, all we can do is try to conserve where we can and buy less gas.  It might mean less trips to the courthouses, it might mean buying a cool hybrid, or (as Steve has pointed out) adopting online searching and searching from home. Our counties don't seem to be as advanced as Steve's and we can't really do a thorough search without going to the courthouse, but that day will probably come. 

Best,
Robert A. Franco
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