Oil spills are another example of the terrible hidden costs we don’t pay at the pump. History has clearly demonstrated that extracting and transporting oil leads to environmental disaster… eventually. It’s a hard cost we pay through increased taxes, degradation to our environment, destruction of wildlife and personal health.

 

The people of Tauranga, New Zealand are devastated. Recently a cargo ship struck a reef off the coast and began leaking oil.  The Captain was arrested and could face one year in prison as well as a fine up to 10,000 New Zealand dollars ($7,800) if he is convicted, and “more charges are likely to follow.”

 

The government has demanded an explanation on how the vessel could crash “into the well-charted reef in calm weather.” But the owners of the ship, Greece-based Costamare Inc, have yet to provide an answer. However, they have made an official statement claiming that they are "cooperating fully with local authorities" and are attempting to do all they can to "control and minimize the environmental consequences of this incident." 

Sanders is very tough when it comes to the issue of gas prices. Recently, he has even gone so far as to go "release confidential records from the CFTC… which documented the power of oil speculators.”

 

In response to the question that’s on everybody’s mind: How is this even possible in our Democracy? Sanders had the following to say: 

 

What is going on now is not supply and demand. What's going on is excessive speculation, what congress did in Dodd-Frank is say to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission "you got to deal with this."  They have ignored the law. They have not yet dealt with it. How powerful are these interests that they are able to stop it even after Congress passed a bill and the President signed it? these are some of the most powerful people in the world. They make huge amounts of campaign contributions; they have lobbyists running all over this place. What they do not want is the American People to understand that the price that they're paying at the gas pump is artificially inflated because of the excessive speculation. And they're working day and night to prevent that disclosure from taking place.

Many travelers have sought refuge from increasing gas prices in public transit, particularly trains. Unfortunately, House Republicans are attempting to cut spending on “Amtrak operations in 2012 from the current level of $563 million to $227 million.” On top of that they are working to “strip federal funding from short routes, which make up almost half of all Amtrak ridership.”

 

 

This isn’t the first time republicans have set their eyes on our railways, “under President George W. Bush, GOP lawmakers tried to wipe out Amtrak’s operating subsidy and allow private operators to skim its profitable routes.”  Amtrak has seen a dramatic rise in ridership since the recession hit the US. Many citizens rely on public transportation as a means of travel to and from work. Recently, Amtrack has hit its “sixth year of record ridership and expects to carry more than 30 million passengers this year.” These proposed cuts will likely be felt most by Working Class Americans.