Summer is coming, and gas prices have been hotter than the weather.

The national average per gallon at the pump is the highest it has ever been at $4.56, which thankfully is 57 cents higher than the gas station nearest me as I write this.

Nonetheless, that average has gone up 44 cents in the past month and $1.69 since last year, according to the Associated Press.

Why is gas so high? There’s no short answer to that question, but there are some things we can evaluate and draw some conclusions.

The biggest culprit is — you guessed it — Vladimir Putin. But wait, shouldn’t President Joe Brandon, I mean Biden, have greater control to prevent such dramatic hikes?

Consider this, as of 2021, the U.S. was the top producer of gas in the world, producing 11,184,870 barrels per day. If you missed the first guess, I bet you’ll know who is second in oil production. It’s Russia at 10,111,830 barrels a day. Beyond that, Saudi Arabia produces 9.3 million, then there is a large drop to Canada at 4.5 million.

Gas prices started to take a more dramatic turn around Feb. 27, the day Russia invaded Ukraine. On Feb. 28, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported gas at $3.60 per gallon. A week later, it was $4.10 per gallon. It reached $4.32 before stalling back down to $4.06, but is now at its highest price ever.

That invasion triggered a response from the rest of the world. Should we be buying oil from Russia while it is invading another country? The resounding answer was no.

Because of that, the world lost 10 percent of its total oil. Lack of supply, plus high demand, equals higher prices. Less than 2 percent of the U.S. supply comes from Russia, but the world oil markets have made an impact on that 2 percent .

We saw the opposite of this just two years ago. Oil prices collapsed in 2020 amid worldwide COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns and stayat-home orders. Low demand and high supply equals lower prices.

Many an affordable trip was probably planned, and even taken by some, while it was more affordable.

Now, those who didn’t take those trips then are itching to take one now, creating the demand that allows prices to rise so intensely.

So, what can be done?

On March 31, Biden released 1 million barrels of oil per day from the nation’s strategic petroleum reserve for six months. He says the answer is more supply, which makes sense. He has also made two other releases from the reserves without causing a major shift in markets.

This time, he said he expected gas prices to drop “fairly significantly,” like 10-35 cents per gallon. As of right now, things seem to be moving the other direction.

There is also something to be said about the relationship between gas and inflation, and the president’s hand in the latter part. Maybe we’ll save that for a different column.

The only way to have a more meaningful long-term impact on oil supply is to dig it up and refine it yourself. Could we increase oil production domestically? The short answer to that is yes.

The long answer involves a lot more conversation about the environmental impacts and navigating the morality of issuing more drilling permits and building refineries. Another topic also for another time.

So if there seems to be no major relief coming soon, what other options are there?

You could bypass gas entirely with an electric vehicle.

At the Barry Electric Cooperative’s annual meeting recently, BEC Board President David Cupps had his own personal electric vehicle on display, willing to tell anyone how it has worked out for him.

“I see those gas prices going up, and I’m not stopping to get any,” he said.

Cupps may be a couple decades ahead of the curve, as no matter who is invading who or how many drill permits we issue, oil is finite.

According to the EIA’s International Energy Outlook 2021, the global supply of crude oil, other liquid hydrocarbons and biofuels is expected to meet global needs through 2050.

After that, there is “substantial uncertainty about the levels of future liquid fuels supply and demand.”

That’s 28 years. My daughters will be turning 35 and 28. We will quite literally give them a different world than ours when it comes to energy consumption.

The issues of today must be addressed, but they may not overshadow what needs to be done for our future.

Kyle Troutman has served as the editor of the Cassville

Democrat since 2014.

In 2017, he was named William E. James/Missouri

Outstanding Young Journalist for daily newspapers. He may be reached at 417-847-2610 or editor@ cassville-democrat.com.