Not too long ago, oil was more than $100 a barrel, gas was well over $3 a gallon (almost $4) and drivers were planning their daily trips very carefully. Flash-forward to now, where it’s not hard to find a gallon of gas in most parts of the country for less than $2.
One Midwestern gas station was selling it for $1.52. There’s no lack of business channel pundits out there telling everyone how bad sub-$2 gas is. There are definitely downsides, chiefly among them, the loss of high-paying gas and oil exploration jobs, and this is regrettable.
But, you’d be hard-pressed to find many drivers out there complaining about the ability to fill their tank for about half what they previously could.
So I’ll just get down to brass tacks and say it: I love gas. I love oil. I really appreciate oil and gas. Oil made this country. Oil is literally the fuel that grew the United States into the world’s greatest superpower.
Oil and gas not only fuel cars and trucks out on the road, but trains that transport products, and the tanks, troop carriers, jets and bombers that protect this country. Oil built bridges.
Oil and gas fueled the machines which built our nation’s infrastructure. Oil and gas are amazing. Anyone in the automotive parts business welcomes cheaper gas prices because it’s going to be a lot cheaper to deliver parts.
And, people are probably going to drive more now, and buy larger, more expensive vehicles such as SUVs whose repairs literally drive our industry. Nothing packs the punch of a gasoline engine.
No other fuel in existence contains so much energy in such a small space. I’m not saying you should hug a gas pump the next time you fill up. (That would be pretty weird.)
But, think about how such an incredible fluid has been drawn out of the ground and processed into one beautiful product that determined the history of our country.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m no Luddite. I grew up programming computers.
I love new technology. Gasoline and Diesel engines have never been as sophisticated and technologically advanced as they are now. I’m also going to enjoy watching where hydrogen fuel cell cars and autonomous vehicles go in the future.
But, one thing I can’t stand is when people turn their noses up to oil, as if they’re too good for it. Without oil and gas, I don’t know where we’d be.
