Oil companies are greedy. Why export oil at all? Other than because it makes them more money than refining it here. Exxon alone profited $5.5 billion on just this past one quarter. Those aren't earnings, that's profit.
Inagine if people didn't kick and scream for the last 30 years when it comes to green - electric cars, solar, wind, etc? And no, it's not a conspiracy. The US needs to get off fossil fuels, the sooner the better. We would need a lot less oil than we need now and prices would be immaterial. Other energy costs would drop too, as more and more people use sources of green energy. As there is more of something, it gets cheaper. Simple economics.
Well, for a company to exist there must be a profit to be made. The oil companies aren't the only ones benefitting from the high fuel prices, but local/state, and Federal governments. When the price of fuel goes up like it is now, the price of all goods and services also goes up. Groceries, fuel, clothing, housing, utilities (water, electricity, heating/cooling), construction, and on and on become more expensive. Oil falls into a global market, but the retailers (the gas stations) set the price for the fuel they sell, and that's why the price of fuel varies from one gas station to another.
Approximately 57-cents per gallon represents the amount of tax collected at the pumps. The retailer is not going to pay this tax since it would be a very large loss of business. The only way for the gas station owner to survive is by selling great quantities of fuel in order to make a profit.
The US cannot get off fossil fuels any time soon. Just look which products are used for generations electricity in the US, and then tell us which one of these should not be used. Natural gas is one of several fossil fuels used for heating, cooking, electric power generation, and so on
In relation to electric power production in the US:
The major fuel/energy sources and their contribution to annual U.S. electricity generation.
www.eia.gov
The three major categories of energy for electricity generation are fossil fuels (coal, natural gas, and petroleum), nuclear energy, and renewable energy sources. Most electricity is generated with
steam turbines using fossil fuels, nuclear, biomass, geothermal, and solar thermal energy. Other major electricity generation technologies include
gas turbines, hydro turbines, wind turbines, and solar photovoltaics.
One could drive less, or drive a vehicle that does not burn as much fuel (a motorcycle, for example), carpool, ride a bicycle, use public transportation, or just walk.