The price of gas: breaking down the costs that gets it into your tank

Based on the increased cost of living in the US, gas prices should be more like 8 or 9 bucks a gallon. If this had actually happened over time, we would be further ahead in our efforts to get away from fossil fuel.
Why didn't it happen? You can try asking the CEO's and other related oil profit mongers but, they won't tell you.

When will the bubble burst?

You're paying for speculation and uncertainty in supply due to war in the middle east. That being said, do you think that oil companies and suppliers will allow oil to get cheaper now. I'll tell you when, the bubble will burst, the day that the US plans a huge, well financed honest clean energy Apollo Program. Oil will drop so that it makes it uneconomically sound to justify the cost of the program.

Very interesting article -- thanks for posting this.

I would think that futures will remain high as higher demand from China and India make it increasingly difficult and more costly to keep up from the supply side.

My new consipriacy theory: Raise the price of oil until nobody can afford it, meanwhile find new methods of energy and find out how to make people pay for sun and wind - and tax it too of course.

I'd find it much more informative to learn just what share of of the "Crude Oil" expense in this breakdown can be attributed to the oil industry's profit margin, and how that compares to profit margins enjoyed in the 70's, 80's and 90's.

ok since those numbers add up to 100% oil companies are managing to only break even and record record profits at the same time? fascinating. and patsarts it is not hard to make people pay for the sun and the wind. when you pay your electric bill it is for electricity not oil or coal. A wind farm produces energy the same as a coal plant and would therefor make money the same as a coal plant. difference is, after building the farm, wind is free. Also the price of oil may continue to increase naturally in the market but how do you think anyone is going to raise it themselves. A raise in the gas tax would be beneficial to the country if it gave us money to spend on developing alternative energy and balancing the budget and also discouraged unnecessary use of gas, benefiting the environment. However it would be political suicide since Americans are much more worried about the price of gas than about the environment or the budget. Basically the present price of gas far trumps the future of the country in the eyes of most Americans. America is becoming more and more shortsighted. Case in point, McCain's and Clinton's "gas tax holiday."