For Motorists, gas price jump’s a shock: They had expected Midwest woes to increase costs, but not so much so fast

Feb 23rd South Bend Tribune headline: For Motorists, gas price jump’s a shock: They had expected Midwest woes to increase costs, but not so much so fast

The chatter lately in the Michiana area seems to be whether or not people would rather give up an arm or a leg based on gas prices which have rapidly increased in the area.

The South Bend Tribune ran an article in the February 23^rd newspaper which reflected that prices had jumped within hours from $3.09 to $3.36 at a 7-Eleven on Mayflower Road in South Bend. While the article had comments about the frustration of local residents due to gasoline prices and quotes about how it will change the lives of those interviewed, it didn’t really explain much about the prices.

The Tribune allows readers to comment on certain articles that are published and many people chimed in on this topic. Many of which led me to the points I am going to blog about today.

The comments left by readers led me to question the following: How are gas prices determined? What causes such fluctuations in prices? And finally, is there a solution that will allow this to end?

According to the United States Department of Energy, gas prices are determined by the following: taxes, distribution and marketing, refining and crude oil.  Based on a price of $2.99 in December 2010, The Department of Energy stated that approximately 24% of the price was taxes, 8% was transportation and marketing, 10% was refining and 68% was crude oil price.

The only formula not included in this breakdown, is the amount of up-charge the station tacks on for its own survival.  While some states monitor and cap this amount, many states don’t. As we all have figured out, consumers tend to control this by choosing to avoid the stations which cost more than the others.

While all of these items determine the price of gasoline, the percent of taxes each state charges has a heavy influence on the amount charged. For example, if Indiana charges approximately 24% of each dollar of gasoline for taxes and Alabama only charges 11%, obviously the price of gasoline is going to be cheaper than Indiana.

The price of crude oil, because of the grades of oil, also has a strong influence on the prices of gasoline.  A large portion of oil is controlled by OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) made up of 13 nations who are responsible for about 40% of the world’s oil production.

To give you an idea of the scope of what Americans use, in July 2008, the United States imported about 13 million barrels of crude oil per day.

But OPEC is not the only source the United States uses for oil, we import from both Canada and Mexico, and in 2010 the United States was operating 148 refineries in our own country.

To date, the United States is the third largest producer of oil.

So who is to blame for the recent increased gas prices? After all, the crude oil they are drilling now hasn’t been refined and has nothing to do with the political unrest in Egypt, or does it?

Historically, weather and wars are responsible for large increases in prices at the pump. Recently, crude oil has increased to well over $100 per barrel due to unrest in Egypt. But is Egypt a large course of crude oil? No, Egypt is such a minute supplier their oil doesn’t really matter, but many fear that the large amount of barrels that pass through the Suez Canal and Sumed Pipeline are going to be threatened.

So, if the unrest in Egypt ended today, would prices at the pump magically return to $2.00 per gallon? It is possible that they will return to a less obnoxious price than we see today, but the end isn’t anywhere near. Hurricanes, snow storms and tornadoes repeatedly threaten the Southern refineries in the U.S., and make transporting products harder from refineries to states far away.

In addition, places like China and India are producing more miles of highway than they’ve ever had before.  Their middle class, largest ever, is producing more drivers than ever before, increasing demand for products.  Their increased demand is sure to affect our prices based on the supply produced by OPEC.

Many of the comments in the newspaper encouraged drivers to boycott BP. But the price of gasoline really isn’t dictated by BP, so by boycotting local BP stations, you are really only hurting the owners and workers from your community.

Other readers stated that each day they would encourage fellow readers to boycott another gas station, so they’ll have additional supply and will be forced to reduce the price. That line of thinking isn’t going to solve anything.

Believe me, I’m not happy about the huge hike at the pumps. I’m also not happy that the largest oil company, Exxon Mobile, posted a 9.25 billion profit for the fourth quarter, a 53% soar and largest profit in two years.

Slightly behind Exxon, was Chevron, the second largest oil company, with a 72% increase in the 4^th quarter.  Finally, slating a 46% rise in the third quarter, was ConocoPhillips.

While these companies have to pay taxes on their earnings, it seems as though the government should hold them more responsible for gouging the consumer. 

Stimulus seems to be a large concern of the government.  Possibly the answer for stimulus is allowing regular consumers to have money in their pockets, instead of forking it over to the billions of dollars sustaining the oil companies.

I hoped that by understanding the process of how prices were determined, that I would feel better about the huge leap in prices at the pump, but I don’t.

I have a better grasp for why prices vary from state to state, but I don’t really think there is a good answer for a change.  If we rally against the amount of taxes that are collected at the pump, legislators will only tax us on something else to make up for the difference.

Competition between local stations tends to keep them in check as far as tacking on a little extra of their profit status. So I think that is good.

Finally, I was impressed that the United States is the third largest crude oil producer and that we have 148 refineries.  At least we are trying to accomplish something .  I just hope we don’t wait too long to increase production with the competition of demand from other countries becoming greater.

I guess for now, I’ll have to consider giving my arm for the price of gas. At the rate things are going, I might need my leg!

Poisoned dog embarks on path to recovery

                Diana Farris told a reporter that she believes a steak was thrown over her fence that was laced with rat poisoning and that her dog, Cricket, ate it.

                Apparently, Cricket, a three-year-old miniature pinscher, and her mother, Pepper, a 5-year-old miniature pinscher were let outside when the two found the steak.  Cricket consumed more than her mother and became ill within a day or two of discovering the rat poisoned laced steak.

                Farris rushed her dog to the vet after she became ill and following blood tests, the vet determined that Cricket had been poisoned. 

                Headlines in the South Bend Tribune would lead readers to believe that the dogs were poisoned by someone with access to throw the steak over the fence. However, in the Tribune article, Farris stated that she did not see foot prints leading to the fence surrounding her neighbors’ houses, leading her to believe that the steak was thrown from a distance.

                Farris said in the article she knows that her small dogs are prone to bark.

                I know what it’s like to be a neighbor of a small dog.  My neighbors owned a small dog for about two doors named Cindy.  Cindy was a Cairn Terrier that had been a puppy when they adopted it. While I thought Cindy was a fairly good dog, she had a soprano bark which could cut glass.

                I remember lying in bed late at night or early in the morning and Cindy seemed to bark for hours.  No kidding, there were times at 7am on a Saturday morning when Cindy’s harp bark, similar to nails on a chalkboard, would cause me to think that a jury in the land would  convict if they only knew the agony I was suffering listening to this small, yipping dog.

                My issue with this article lies within the headline stating that the steak was thrown over the fence and stating in the article that Farris believes the steak was thrown from a distance. Either the culprit lives within the corners of Farris’s property or there is a random attempted dog killer on the loose in Niles.

                I think the one thing all readers can take away from this front page, local section article is that dog owners need to be more cognizant of what their pets are doing. Winter months are cold on animals, and I don’t believe they like to be left out for long periods of time, especially unattended.

                Pet owners need to take care of their animals and have respect for their neighbors. And neighbors need to voice their disapproval of barking dogs before it results in tossing a rat poisoned steak over the fence.

Riley High teacher is suspended for 5 days: School district says she told two students to fight, then hit one.

Carol Wallace has been a teacher at Riley High School for the past 35 years.  Recently, Wallace was suspended for 5 days without pay following an incident with two students.

She did not contest the fact that two students were acting up in class and she told them to go into the hallway and not come back until one of the kids was “bloody.” After talking with the students in the hallway, she brushed away one student’s hand from his face, striking his cheek.

This incident prompted administrators to suspend Wallace, who has no prior allegations of wrongdoings in her file, for five days without pay. 

I’m not saying what Wallace did was right, but I have some thoughts on this issue.

Although it has been about 25 years since I was in third grade, I remember having a very disruptive student in my class named William. Each day, he would misbehave and each day Mrs. Rea would paddle him in class. I don’t think William was in that class very long before he transferred, but I can tell you that the rest of the 25 students who were in the class learned that we better behave unless we wanted to be paddled.

Teachers had more authority back then. They also were given more respect. If Mrs. Wallace has been a teacher for 35 years, she probably remembers those days.

I can understand that trying to teach a classroom of 20-30 students and having two students filled with testosterone and disrupting the class would be enough to make any educator frustrated. I’m sure that Mrs. Wallace was pushed a little over the edge when she demanded they go into the hallway and fight.

I am sure she knows that touching the student and telling them to fight was a poor decision. But does it warrant a five day suspension without pay?  Many people who commented on the South Bend Tribune feel as though she should be fired for her actions. I think that is a little rough. 

What about the students who caused this whole incident to happen? I didn’t read anything about the students getting suspended or reprimanded for disrupting the class. Without their choice to act up in class, none of this would have happened.

I believe that Mrs. Wallace made a snap decision that was in poor taste and judgment, but it is a shame that more people will associate her name with this sole incident than with the 35 years of teaching and mentoring numerous students in the South Bend area.

From Journalism student to blogger

I was ten years old and in fourth grade at Central Elementary in Portage, Indiana when a guest speaker came to visit my class. She was a reporter for the new newspaper in town and she was there to give my class a glimpse into her career.

I was fascinated.  From that day forward, I was committed to being a Journalist.

In high school, I chose classes such as Journalism, English, Yearbook and Newspaper, which would support my life’s ambition.  After graduation, I worked at the LaPorte Herald Argus, trying to bolster my resume with work experience which I would soon supplement with a good education from Indiana University.

“Present the facts, do not include personal accounts of situations and by all means, don’t be bias when writing an article,” was engrained into my brain from virtually every professor I had.

For several years, I was a freelance writer for the South Bend Tribune and a few magazines and other newspapers. I always reported the facts and let my readers draw their own conclusions as to whether or not they felt a defender was guilty or who was responsible for an accident I was writing about.

Now, as I am months away from my receiving my Master’s Degree in Liberal Studies, I have been met with the challenge of becoming a public intellectual. I have decided that one way I can meet this challenge is to take what I know from background in Journalism and blog about articles that appear in the South Bend Tribune.

I want to bring a personal look into the impersonal world of Journalism by posting my own reflections to the articles which are presented to over 161,000 readers each day.

So here it is…. A bias look into the unbiased world of Journalism.