Re: Are rising gas prices inevitable?

Oil is a finite resource. It is the collected energy of millions of years of life on this planet. As long as we consume more of it than the planet generates, the price we pay for it will increase. While we certainly need the market for it to be as transparent as possible, this transparency will only cause the price to further increase. Americans currently pay far less at the pump than than almost any other consumer of gas on this planet. This is because our government subsidizes our oil industry to a ridiculous extent. The cost to our economy for oil should not be judged entirely by the price we pay at the pump, because a large portion of what we pay comes from our taxes. When the price of oil becomes prohibitively expensive, we will be forced to move to another energy source. Our government should be spending money on developing other sources of energy, rather than subsidizing the entrenched interests of the oil companies. Unfortunately, our government functions in a fashion which inherently protects the intrenched interests. Regardless, when the time comes to ditch oil, market forces will naturally bring us the most efficient energy source available unless the government gets in its way.