It’s no secret that higher gasoline prices are a problem for a lot of folks, including everyday drivers, businesses and — maybe especially — the politicians who hear the complaints from the first two. Although prices at the pump have been trending higher for some time, they’ve really come to the forefront in the past several weeks following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has stressed global energy markets and sent U.S. officials looking for any and all options to keep a lid on prices. In today’s RBN blog, we look at President Biden’s decision to allow the sale of E15 gasoline during the summer months, whether it’s likely to provide U.S. drivers significant relief from high prices this summer, and how global pressures are moving ethanol prices higher too.
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We’ve written a lot in recent weeks about the swift upward movement in global energy prices and their effects. We put those price increases in some historical context in Comfortably Numb, looked at how the International Energy Agency (IEA) is trying to address the oil-market turmoil in Road to Nowhere, examined what U.S. refineries have been importing from Russia in We’re Not Going to Take It, showed why U.S. E&Ps have been slow to ramp up oil production in the I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do) series, and illustrated how rising gasoline prices are making electric vehicles (EVs) more cost-competitive in One Shining Moment.
Crude oil prices have been on a steady rise over the last year as the economy recovers from the pandemic-induced recession of 2020. U.S. benchmark WTI settled April 19 at $102.56/bbl, down from its recent high mark of $123.70/bbl on March 8, which was set not long after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But prices have been steadily climbing for more than a year, rising from $47.62/bbl on the first day of trading in 2021 and $76.08/bbl on the first day of trading in 2022. Gasoline prices have followed suit. The U.S. average was $4.101/gal on April 19, up more than 40% from a year earlier.
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About the song
“Turn Turn Turn” was written by Pete Seeger in the late fifties, with the lyrics quoting the first eight verses of the third chapter of the biblical Book of Ecclesiastes. The line from the song, “A time to refrain from embracing,” could be applied to the times we are experiencing today. The song was first released under the title “To Everything There is a Season” on the Limeliters’ Folk Matinee album, released in 1962. The song’s author Pete Seeger released it later in the same year on his The Bitter and the Sweet album. The Byrds recorded the song in 78 takes at Columbia Studios in Hollywood between September-October 1965, with Terry Melcher producing. it was released as a single in October 1965 and went to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart. The song prominently features Jim (Roger) McGuinn’s 12-string Rickenbacker guitar. It is the first cut on side one of The Byrds’ second studio album of the same name. Personnel on the record were: Jim (Roger) McGuinn (lead 12-string guitar, vocals), Gene Clark (rhythm guitar, tambourine, vocals), David Crosby (rhythm guitar, vocals), Chris Hillman (bass), and Michael Clarke (drums).
Turn Turn Turn was The Byrds’ second studio album and was produced by Terry Melcher. Released in December 1965, the album went to #17 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart. This album would help put The Byrds at the top of the folk rock movement they helped create. The album would be the last to feature full participation of original member Gene Clark, who would leave the band in 1966.
The Byrds were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1964. The band went through 11 members until its final dissolution in 1973, with Jim (Roger) McGuinn being the only original member in its lineup. They were pioneers in the folk rock, and later in the country rock genre. The Byrds released 12 studio albums, three live albums, six EP's, 47 compilation albums, and 29 singles. The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991. Gene Clark died in 1991, Michael Clarke in 1993. McGuinn, Crosby, and Hillman remain active in various solo and band projects to this date.
