Perhaps this would be better suited to the other gas thread but this I believe I can get a more adequate answer through this being a topic. I'm not one to watch the news so I don't know if they even explain why gas prices rise but wherever I have looked on the internet I cannot seem to find a sufficient answer to why exactly gas prices are so high.

It is my understanding that there could be a few factors involved. The best answer I've found so far is that because oil is bought with U.S. dollars and now that the value of the dollar is down, other countries/companies can now buy it for cheaper which makes it more expensive in the U.S. But I've also heard that gas prices are made up of 30-40% tax which really pisses me off. This is such an unnecisary thing and we should be cutting unnecisary programs and reducing this tax. Also I'm not sure where I can exactly check it but does a tarrif have any significant impact on the cost?

The next possible reason is that it is becoming more and more difficult to acess and extract crude oil. Now this is understandable but how the hell does it go from being 8 cents in Saudia Arabia to $3.30 in the U.S.? I also understand that there are a shitload of conservation laws in the U.S. protecting lands that would otherwise be extracted for oil but in a time like this is that really neccisary? We have equipment for detecting pockets of oil so we won't be tearing up land right and left but the impression I get (because I live in a biased republican household) is that conservationalists are being ignorantly stupid in not letting us drill in some places where we could easily do so and reduce prices. Perhaps there are some other factors in place but this is (or what seems to be) happening.

The next point I'm curious about is why exactly does conflict in Libya and Egypt raise prices? I understand that this hinders business but isn't the U.S. one of the smaller buyers of that region? It makes sense that prices would go up but why exactly? And is it really neccisary for gas prices to go up 20 cents in one night?

Perhaps I'm also missing other factors, but if I am what else is involved? Also is there any way we can reduce these prices that the government caused because of stupid party agendas (unnecisary taxes, not drilling on our own land for stupid reasons, etc.)? And does anyone know how we are progressing with alternative fuel sources (hydrogen, electric, etc.)?