7 March 2011 Annoy your Congressman for fun and for the environment.

The price of gasoline has jumped about $0.33 in the last two weeks. The price of oil is $105.24/barrel. There has been no major disruption in the delivery and transport of oil from well fields to refineries. The suspended supply from Libya is being met by other OPEC nations. The United States gets 51% of its imported oil from North America. Lesser amounts are from the Caribbean, Africa, and the Persian Gulf.

The petroleum industry, the financial industry, and the government all assure us that the gasoline price increase is normal free-market fluctuation; not the result of unbridled speculation and blatant price gouging. The petroleum industry, the financial industry, the government, and the speculators are lying to us, while simultaneously robbing us.

It is undeniably correct to point out that our preference for large automobiles and trucks with large, inefficient engines is partly to blame for the situation. It is also true that the auto industry in this nation tried to avoid building fuel-efficient engines until forced into it by government regulation. Even the number of smaller, more efficient, and co-incidentally more reliable and better designed for passenger safety failed to motivate Detroit to build smaller and more efficient vehicles. As for safety, they have yet to match the designs of European and Asian manufacturers. I’ point this out only because there seems to be some confusion among our elected officials as to how willing American corporations are to make changes for the benefit of consumers, the environment, or the nation without being forced into it by means of regulation.

If it were left to the manufacturers to decide, American autos would still be made lacking safety belts, air bags, and even safety glass. Fleet mileage performance would still be in the average 10 MPG range. If it were left to the corporations to decide, Acid rain would still be falling on the Appalachian chain, there would be no waterways capable of sustaining fish populations, and we’d still be unable to swim in or drink from any of our streams and lakes because of chemical and biological contamination.

The GOP seems to be content to allow deregulation to return us to the days of burning rivers, clear-cut forestry, and mountain top removal ala Peabody. I’m not willing to stand by and let that happen.

Please call your U.S. Representative at his/her local office and in Washington D.C. to inform them that you distrust the GOP and Corporate America to do the right thing, ever. Tell them that for the above reason you want them to keep the EPA, FDA, and NPR fully funded. Tell them that they can begin making cuts by drafting and submitting a bill to stop the automatic raises now provided for House and Senate members. They won’t do it. Plan to call them at least once a week.

My representative boasts that every bit of mail and e-mail sent to his offices is read. Yours probably makes the same boast. Feel free to make their reading material about something you believe in strongly! E-mail them at least weekly. Repeat as necessary!

Have fun, it’s your government that the GOP/teavangelists want to usurp, your social safety net they want to remove. Do not go quietly into that bleak future they plan for our once-middle class. Make certain your voices are heard!