Alone in the Car: Gas Prices

I filled up the car on my way home from work this afternoon. Cars were lined up out into the street to get the $3.89/gallon price. Drivers considered this price a deal they could not pass up!

I just truly do not understand why we are buying a product we need from outside our own country?
Gasoline is not a "want" but a "need". Why can't we just use our own gas resources? Why do we have to buy it from someone else?

Brookings Institution released a study today on mass transit. One of the statistics: nearly 70 percent of metropolitan residents live in neighborhoods with access to transit service, but only about 30 percent of metro jobs are accessible through these mass transit systems. These 100 top metropolitan cities make up 65 percent of the nation’s population and are responsible for 75 percent of its economic output. Linking transit and jobs will be a critical step in achieving sustainability. For more information see: http://thecityfix.com/brookings-institution-transit-and-jobs-in-metropolitan-america/

I guess I qualify as having access to a transit service. Two buses come for the morning commute and 2 buses for the way back home. That is it. Other parts of the city have buses that run all day long. My schedule is flexible and so I use the bus when I can, which is not very often.

Some pondering questions:
1. Do our leaders want us to use only mass transit? Tell that to the people who live in small communities.
2. Do our leaders want us to buy foreign oil and not drill for ours, thus continuing conflicts? Wars support an economy. Though Canada, Mexico, and Nigeria export more than Saudi Arabia to us, it is the overall Western dependence of Middle East oil, I guess, is the reason we are there.
3. Why do our leaders want us to suffer economically? My budget is finite. I cannot vote to increase my debt ceiling.

Ok, now let's lighten up. Let's think of some ideas that may still need some work:
1. Mini hot air balloons. They don't have to go around the world, just less than 30 miles one way. Fold up into a knap sack during working hours.
2. Cow manure co-ops. Car engines are adjusted for methane gas.
3. A small solar powered fan on the back of your car which pushes the wind and makes your car go, creating your own jet stream.
What idea do you have?