With the Democratic National Convention underway, and Barack Obama officially nominated as the democratic presidential candidate, his stance on offshore drilling needs to determined. The “Gang of 10″ Republicans and Democrats have come up with a plan that will allow offshore drilling by oil companies in areas currently considered off-limits because of environmental concerns to the coastline.

So what is this plan being pushed and what are the perceived benefits? In short, the plan is to lift the ban on offshore drilling to bring down the price of gasoline for Americans. A secondary goal is to raise $84 billion for alternative energy and conservation funds. This money would start accumulating immediately once exploration begins, as oil companies will no longer be eligible for a manufacturing tax credit. It’s as simple as that…

Now, what are the realistic expectations Americans should have about this plan?

• It will be 10 years before oil will start to be pumped into refinery pipelines, from the point the exploring begins.
• Oil will start being pumped out in 10 years, but maximum capacity isn’t expected to be reached until 2030.
• As the oil is pumped from these new leases, it will just be auctioned off into the global market, and the highest bidder will buy the oil. It will not be set aside solely for Americans, unless we are planning to change the way we participate in free global markets.
• Even though the plan projects to raise $84 billion for alternative energy projects, drilling in these off-limit areas will risk serious environmental damage to our coastlines.

With those kinds of expectations, you may wonder why there is even a debate. Well, it comes down to votes. The fear of continued high gas prices may lead voters to choose whatever candidate tells them their plan will reduce prices at the pump.

A recent WSJ/ABC News poll revealed voters’ stances on how they feel about about expanding offshore drilling:

Obama Voters

Right Direction: 41% Unsure: 14% Wrong Direction: 45%

McCain Voters

Right Direction: 88% Unsure: 4% Wrong Direction: 8%

Undecided Voters

Right Direction: 61% Unsure: 17% Wrong Direction: 23%

Those numbers look a little concerning. Our two nominees should start focusing on realistic alternatives to gas price reduction, instead of lobbying for whatever plan gains traction at the polls.

We’re interested to see what DumpItInThePump readers think about this issue. Let us know!

We recently wrote a post regarding predictions of travel over the Fourth of July.  At that time the price of fuel was at an all time high with the national average gallon of gas at $4.07.  As expected travel was down when compared to previous years.

Labor Day weekend is fast approaching and unlike previous holiday’s in 2008 we are starting to see some relief at the pump.  Gas prices have dropped approximately 42 cents since a peak not long after the Fourth of July.

The question is whether the decline in fuel costs will change motorists attitude and cause them to hit the road this weekend.  The AAA predicts a slight decrease in travel this Labor Day weekend vs. last year.  More specifically a .9% decrease is expected for people traveling over 50 miles.  I have to admit I’m a little surprised that the AAA expects such small decline when comparing the travel this year to last year.  Yes - gas prices have declined 42 cents in the more recent weeks, however, the prices are still up by almost a dollar when compared to last year.   My prediction would be a more significant reduction in travel this holiday… I guess we’ll see what happens.

If you have been watching our US Nationwide Gas Price widget you may have noticed a steady decline in prices over the past 30+ days.  Average prices have fallen by about 40 cents nationally.  The Daily Fuel Gauge Report provided by the AAA shows that the average gallon of regular gasoline today costs $3.70 while the average a month ago was at $4.06.  At this point, I think consumers will take any relief they can get although this is still not a huge drop considering that the avergage gallon one year ago was $2.78.

With the increased cost of fuel, many consumers have taken measures to decrease their usage.  The aggregate nationally and worldwide is causing a significant reduction in demand from this time last year.  It will, however, be interesting to see if consumers will continue forward with a reduction in usage or if with the reduced prices we’ll go back to our old ways.

Our Gas Price by State pages provide some interesting graphs on the change in prices in different states:

Highest Prices:

• Alaska
• Hawaii
• California

Lowest Prices:

• Missouri
• South Carolina

As written up by Gas20.org, Suzuki plans to sell cars that run entirely on ethanol gas in the US and Brazil by 2010. They note that Brazil’s economy is ready to supply these new cars with fuel as in Brazil, ethanol is just as prevalent as gasoline. They use sugar cane to produce ethanol and claim it is a self sustaining industry.

Unfortunately, in the US, crops used to produce ethanol are also used to feed cattle and sustain other critical parts of our comprehensive agricultural industry. The mandates to increase ethanol as fuel have driven the costs of these crops so high that farmers and consumers are starting to feel the impact. So, will these cars really sell that well in the US? Will our economy allow ethanol to be prevalent enough to fuel Suzuki’s new lineup?

It is not uncommon for a daily commute to take 30 to 60 minutes (one way), particularly from suburban to metropolitan areas.  The cost of a fuel for a commute like this has grown dramatically in the past year or so.  As a result the expected expenditure on fuel for an employee is likely to be much different today than when they took on their position.  What rights does an employee have and what can be expected of the employer?

I think we should first recognize that if an employee is taking on a greater financial burden due to increasing fuel costs, the employer is as well.  Depending on the line of business the employer may be in even worse shape.  However, I do think that is is only fair and logical that employers be open minded about ways to help their employees.

Here are a couple examples of employers with creative ideas to keep employees motivated even while dumping at the pump!

• Jobing.com - a nationally recognized job search company focused to job seekers on a local level is offering employees the opportunity to earn a $500 monthly stipend plus free gas for turning their car into a rolling billboard.
• Utah will be moving to a 4 day work week for state employees starting in August.  This will be a year long test to reduce the state’s energy costs.  Employees will work ten hour days Monday through Thursday to continue at the average 40 hour work week and will not be required to work on Fridays

These are just a few ideas that we came across.  Others could include allowing employees to work from home one or two days a week or creating sales incentives with gas cards.  As fuel demand continues to rise I look forward to see other creative ideas like these.