Gas prices are going up, there is no doubt about it. The causes are speculated to be many, but a primary one is lack of refineries. We need to refine the oil that comes out of the ground, it is a complicated, dirty process, but it needs to happen. But where would you build a big dirty refinery? I don't think anyone would volunteer to have one in their neighborhood.
But what if the price of gas and other commodities dropped significantly the closer you lived to a refinery? For example, the state that allows a refinery gets gas for half of the average for the rest of the country. (We are conveniently putting aside the geographic needs that a refinery has, like access to a lot of water.) Would citizens be more willing to have a refinery in the outskirts of their cities if it meant more jobs and cheaper gas? Will it come to that eventually?
We can't wait for green energy to pick up, that's just not happening fast enough. Another option, what about refining the refining process? Making it cleaner with less pollution and waste product? I'm sure people are working on this, but could we amp up the energy put into it?
But what if the price of gas and other commodities dropped significantly the closer you lived to a refinery? For example, the state that allows a refinery gets gas for half of the average for the rest of the country. (We are conveniently putting aside the geographic needs that a refinery has, like access to a lot of water.) Would citizens be more willing to have a refinery in the outskirts of their cities if it meant more jobs and cheaper gas? Will it come to that eventually?
We can't wait for green energy to pick up, that's just not happening fast enough. Another option, what about refining the refining process? Making it cleaner with less pollution and waste product? I'm sure people are working on this, but could we amp up the energy put into it?
