Dark Days Ahead: Why Gas Prices Keep Climbing

The precursor to today's soaring gas prices actually began with the 1973 Oil Embargo, though isolated strains and rising demand appeared as early as 1972.

The reasons why were a dwindling domestic capacity, the Arab Oil Embargo, and shifting market dynamics that caused the price of a barrel of oil to quadruple by 1974.

 A major factor in the price of gas today also involves the volatile Middle East with an illegal war on Iran. The U.S. has seen prices surge to a nationwide $4.33 per gallon. And it's only going to get worse according to energy experts.

Lawmakers today are paying the price for not resolving the first energy crisis's biggest challenge; while the U.S. produces a massive amount of oil, it yields mainly "light" crude. 

The problem is most American refineries are structurally built to process "heavy" crude imported from regions like Latin America and Canada.

Exporting the USA's own crude and relying on foreign markets for its refined fuel needs has been a losing proposition that lawmakers have been loath to address.

Fact; the U.S. hasn't built a major new refinery since the 1970s. Existing facilities are running near full capacity (around 98%), and recent refinery closures on the West Coast have constrained supplies even further.

American pump prices are directly locked to international benchmarks. When international supply drops, it forces domestic prices to immediately climb as we experience the effect of the Trump/Epstein war.

The U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) is the world's largest emergency supply of crude oil. Instead of using traditional tanks, the federal government stores this oil deep underground in 60 massive, artificially carved salt caverns located across four heavily guarded sites along the Gulf of Texas and Louisiana.

But there's a problem. The SPR is at its lowest level in over 44 years, holding about 285 million barrels of crude oil as of September 2026. The stockpile is currently at about 40% of its total capacity of 714 million barrels.

Then we have a demented president who boasts about America's huge oil reserves and how we don't have to worry about gas prices. In his fantasy world Trump claims gas prices will go down "shortly" despite evidence that things are only going to get worse if they continue to follow the course they're on.

As it Stands, I think were rapidly approaching a point where bicycles and horse drawn vehicles will become our primary modes of transportation. Just kidding. Sort of.