InsureMe's Insurance Blog: Hold on to Your Gas Caps, Folks.

If you're anything like me, you probably saw the price of gas jump $.15 in one week and wondered what it petroleum's name was going on.

After a little research (followed by the Cliffs Notes version from my 86-year old environmentalist grandfather,) I finally got it figured out. Here's the scoop, in laymen's terms, so everyone knows exactly what's going on and what to expect in the months ahead at the pump.

According to a recent article by the Associated Press (courtesy of MSN Money) the price of gasoline is up because of supply problems due to a phase-out of the fuel additive, methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE). MTBE is being removed from gasoline because it was found to contaminate groundwater. As a result, refiners are left at risk for lawsuits—and Congress has refused to grant them (refiners) protection from MTBE-related legal action.

Let's recap:

MTBE in our fuel contaminates groundwater

Congress won't protect refiners from MTBE-related lawsuits

refiners want to avoid legal recourse

the phase-out of MTBE is tightening the fuel supply in the US

So according to AP, the MTBE additive will be replaced with ethanol, which may pose an additional problem: the Energy Department and the oil industry are now concerned about whether there will be enough ethanol (a fuel derived from corn, which is produced in the Midwest) to meet the surge in fuel demand. Officials are also unsure whether the current fuel distribution system will be able to support these changes.

All these factors, as you might have guessed, have contributed (and will continue to contribute) to the increasing prices at the pump—some analysts predict that the price of fuel may hit $3 per gallon by this summer.

The good news is, analysts are also saying the impending gas crisis is a temporary one. The AP reports that the industry is trying to mitigate the situation by filling ethanol storage tanks on the East Coast before summer and contracting barges that can ship ethanol down the Mississippi River and then up through the Atlantic seaboard.

And while experts predict that the "supply tightness" will dissipate within two to five months, I'm sure this won't keep us all from sighing with discontent every time we fill up our gas tanks. But just keep in mind that the gas hikes are temporary—and necessary to keep our drinking water clean and free of contaminants.