Why are gas prices high?
Experts say the cost of gasoline can be summed up in three words: supply, demand and ethanol. Supply has been impacted by maintenance problems at U.S. refineries. Global demand continued to keep the price of oil high, while the government’s push toward bio-fuels like ethanol raised the cost of that product as well. At least those issues crept into some reporting. NBC addressed the supply problem by giving time to an oil executive on the May 30 “Today.” Anchor Matt Lauer interviewed ConocoPhillips Chairman and CEO James Mulva about the high price of gas. While Lauer raised questions about company profits, he did give Mulva a chance to explain that “We’re running our refineries at capacity.” And that demand had run into a crunch because of low supplies of gasoline. “20/20” addressed profit in a June 1 report. Host John Stossel defended oil firms. “When did profit become a dirty word?” he asked, and pointed out that “nearly all the money goes to looking for more oil and in following the e
