Nightline Daily Email: 5/16

W A S H I N G T O N, May 16, 2001 -- Guilty. I admit it. I am part of the problem. I own a SUV, although it's one of the smaller ones, not the huge behemoths that you see on the road more and more. Now I used to have a sports car, and when I realized sports cars and snow don't go together, I went out and bought something with four-wheel drive. That's my excuse. And as I drive in to work, it seems that all I see are other SUV's.

Now twenty dollars used to fill the tank. I filled up on the way home last night, and that same twenty seemed to buy about three-quarters of a tank, if that. Clearly, and this won't be news to any of you, gas has gone up.

I remember the gas lines of the 1970's, and setting the thermostat lower, and wearing sweaters inside, and all of that. But in recent years, it seemed like there was energy to spare. When I used to work in Central and South America, power outages were common in many countries. A cameraman friend of mine used to call the U.S. "the land of the all-night generator." We knew that when we came home, there would be power to spare. Well, at least this summer, that seems to be somewhat in doubt. Just ask Californians.

So tonight we're going to concentrate on gasoline. Dave Marash will explain just why a gallon of gas costs what it does. Where is the money going, and why is the price going up? Back in the '70's, OPEC was the villain, with-holding oil and driving up the cost of crude oil. Right now, OPEC production is fairly stable, as is the cost of crude oil. So what is driving up the cost at the pump?

And while you feel the crunch the most when you pull out your wallet at the gas station, you're also feeling it in ways that you may not be aware of. Rising gas prices affect the costs of almost everything else. Anything that is moved by truck, or airplane, is affected. Taxicab rates are going up. When the price of a gallon of gas goes up, the whole economy feels it. That will be the subject of Michel Martin's report.

And while I feel guilty about being part of the SUV problem, I do drive part way in and take the subway in the rest of the way. And the trains are packed, which is no coincidence. People are turning to other forms of transportation, and trying to conserve in their own way. But Vice-President Cheney, who is in charge of developing the Bush administration energy policy, has dismissed conservation as at least a partial solution to the current problems. News permitting, we'll be dealing with that issue, and the politics of an administration headed by two former oil men, in tomorrow's broadcast.

Leroy Sievers is the executive producer of Nightline.