Gas Prices - gouging by oil companies or gluttony by drivers?

We've heard lots lately about the rising price of gasoline and as usual conspiracy theories abound about collusion by oil companies. Don't get me wrong - I'm not defending the oil companies I'm just trying to point out the role that drivers play in this little saga. Before we start we need a quick refresher of the basics of supply and demand. Supply curves slope up and demand curves slope down - simple as that. So what has that got do do with putting the blame on drivers for the high cost of gas? Well it's simple, over the last number of years we have seen steady increases in the volumes of gasoline sold across North America and we have also seen the prices risng. This leads us to one immutable and inescapable conclusion - demand has been shifting to the right. That's the only way that we could have a combination of increased volumes and increased prices. Thus, while there have been problems on the supply side, namely no new refining capacity coming on line in several years, the real culprit is the voracious appetite for fuel by motorists. This is caused by two things: the number of vehicles that consume large amounts of fuel (sport utilities and pick up trucks) and the amount that we drive. So, next time you're at the pumps and it costs you a hundred bucks to fill your full size SUV and you start to mutter about the oil companies sticking it to us, just remember that you're part of the problem.