Clay Burgh

Project 1 Analysis Plan

Eng 102

The problem in my community that I chose is the prices of gas that are constantly
changing and normally going up. I have lived in Arizona for over a year now and noticed that gas
prices skyrocket in the summer. Gas prices are unreasonably high everywhere right now, but in
Arizona specifically gas is up more than fifty cents a gallon compared to most other states. One
of the reasons for this is that during the summer here, it gets much hotter than other places.
This means that our vehicles require a different type of gas that can handle the heat. This
affects everyone that drives a car. This problem is important to me, because I am a delivery
driver so the more it goes up the less, I can make.

(Recent prices of gas throughout Arizona)

As you can see in the picture above Prices are very different across the state, some
prices even in phoenix are nearing five dollars per gallon once again. I hope to reach people
that are uneducated about local gas prices. To some delivery drivers and other worker it is just
a daily payment that they do not even think about. I was unaware that they switched to a
different type of gas come summertime, so I think others would be surprised as well. If you
educate enough people about how much more they are being charged than the rest of the
country, there may be a better chance we can lower prices closer to the national average.
 (On average gas prices are at least 30 cents more in Arizona)
I am going to make it an investigative report and hope to interview somebody who
knows much more than I do about gas prices and the new gas being provided. I hope to learn
why we need to switch to this new gas and what makes it different. Gaining more knowledge
on this will help me better understand why, and be able to give a better explanation to my
audience. If my audience takes anything away from this piece, I would like them to at least have
knowledge of what gas they are putting into their vehicle. I also hope that they realize just how
much more they pay than most other people nationally. I understand there is more to gas
prices than just living in Arizona, but this plays a huge part, not enough people talk about it.

Questions:
Why do Arizona residents pay so much more during the summer months than other states
nationally?
What makes the summer gas different?
What would happen if we did not switch to a more expensive gas?
Should the different gas cost more?