Two take aways from the supply and demand theory.
If supply increases and demand stays the same- price decreases
If supply decreases and demand stays the same- price increases
So, let's look at the price of fossil fuel using the supply and demand theory.
Specifically, let's look at the price of gasoline at the pump, although fossil fuel has many more uses than gasoline.(1)
Gasoline pump prices at the end of 2020 were roughly $2.00 per gallon.
Gasoline pump prices in early February 2021 were roughly $3.20 per gallon (and were continuing to trend upward).
What changed?
Before Joe Biden became president, he promised to shut down the Keystone pipeline on Day 1 of his administration. He kept this promise. His administration also tightened the screws on all further fossil fuel exploration.
This started well before Putin invaded Ukraine.
Demand had not significantly increased.
Artificially decreasing supply of fossil fuel by shutting down major portions of the fossil fuel industry was and continues to be the overriding cause of the sky rocketing price of gasoline.
AND...
The exorbitant cost of gasoline is the overriding reason for the recession that we currently are experiencing.
Choking off the lifeline of the American economy is wrecking our economy. We may well find ourselves in a full fledged economic crash and an actual depression far worse than a recession! A depression can have much worse consequences globally leading to world wide conflicts worse than we are currently experiencing.
Do we need to move away from fossil fuels? YES.
However, two key elements are needed.
Better technology. Right now we lack the ability to replace fossil fuel with acceptable replacements. Wind and solar are NOT sufficient to support our current infrastructure. Add electric cars to this and we'd need wind mills and solar panels on every corner- literally! Imagine driving through our country and never losing sight of wind mills and solar panels in the cities, deserts, near ocean shores (in the water), mountain tops, great plains, National Parks, Washington State to Washington D.C., Hawaii to Alaska.
Patience. Phasing out fossil fuel and phasing in replacements (not necessarily wind mills and solar panels) takes time. How much time we have- I don't know.
(1) Fossil Fuel is not just gasoline. It's oil and grease to lubricate our cars, boats, jets, heat and air conditioning systems in your homes, machinery in factories, even your bicycle. It's also an ingredient in rubber and plastic products. From the time raw materials are taken from the ground purified, mixed with other materials, shaped into useable parts to the time they are put into use such as this computer I'm typing on, fossil fuels are required. Artificially decreasing the availability of this resource WITHOUT an acceptable alternative is an assault not just on oil companies but our entire economy, on our very lives!
