But, is that the only question we should be asking?

While many have been hit hard with the high price of gas and the speculation that speculators are adding to the cost by more than 20 percent, shouldn’t one question be ‘how do we stop speculators from increasing the price of gas and other natural resources?’

The citizens of the United States are trying to find ways to cope with the astronomical cost of not only gasoline, but increased grocery bills and everything else that the escalating gas bills are forcing increases on.

We see many more hybrid vehicles and cars with higher gas mileage capabilities on the road. The added bonus is that these types of vehicles also decrease the emissions sent out into our air.

Folks are buying more locally grown produce, which not only benefits local growers, but it also saves on trucking produce across the mountains, which in turn saves gas and air quality.

But what are the big solutions to this problem?

First of all, the United States is working on solutions and trying to address how they can reduce our need for oil but what about the other big oil user – China?

How do we know what they are doing to lessen their impact on not only the environment but also the impact they are having on the demand side of the oil issue?

Saudi Arabia has agreed to extract an additional 200,000 barrels of oil out of the ground but is that really going to make a huge difference in years to come?

Heating bills will go up this winter and there is no end in sight to the continuing soaring price for a gallon of gas.

Part of the answer may be to drill more oil within the United States. It would certainly help us to not be so dependent on other countries for one of the greatest used resources here at home.

But, we need to find other solutions. Better transit systems to and from Seattle, Everett and Bellevue could certainly help ease the pain at the pump. The problem is that changing buses three to four times to get from Lake Stevens to your job in Bellevue or Redmond, taking over an hour and a half, is not always doable.

Creating more jobs closer to home, including here in Lake Stevens and Granite Falls will certainly be a step in the right direction but it will take time and continued joint planning on the part of the City, Snohomish City and the County before we are able to provide more family wage jobs, and thus alleviate some of the commuting.

For now, carpool to the store and walk or ride your bike to those places you can.

Maybe in the end, this gas fiasco will actually equate to a thinner and healthier America!