duct supplies in the marketplace." (4) It is rumored that their are supply tanks buried somewhere near the Gulf of Mexico that could support the country for 66 days if anything were to happen. The United States and other countries have been looking into alternative forms of energy in order to lower their dependency towards foreign oil. Money is being spent into researching solar, hydro, nuclear, and alternate forms of energy. Government regulations also create changes in gas prices. California has recently gone threw price increases at the pumps due to new legislation. The state is heavily overpopulated and has the worst smog of all the states. California gas stations are changing to a cleaner gas that will cause less air pollution, but will be more expensive. The increase is approximately 10-12 cents. That is the price Californians are going to have to pay for cleaner air. Another government regulation is aimed towards the refiners of the oil. The government is putting pressure to change from their winter grades which are oxygenated, to summer grades that have lower evaporability, helping the environment. These costs to switch fuel show up at the pumps, the public has to pay for governmental research and environmental precautions. The United States doesn’t have it as bad as some other countries. The U.S. pays an average of $1.21 per gallon of gasoline. Japan pays $5.35/gallon, Germany pays $4.04/gallon, The United Kingdom pays $3.38/gallon and Mexico pays $1.55/gallon. All four are significantly more than the United States pays. Taxes are the largest component of the prices we pay at the pumps. "Taxes were the single largest component cost of gasoline, amounting to 42.4 cents per gallon, including 18.4 cents per gallon in federal taxes, 22 cents per gallon in weighted average state taxes and an estimated 2 cents per gallon in local taxes." (5) The President of The United States of America, Bill Clinton, has on several occasions p...
