When gas prices skyrocketed late last year following a destructive hurricane season along the U.S. Gulf Coast, people were left scrambling for the money to go about their every day lives with the extra expense.

That scenario was alive and well in Shelby County, where a large portion of our residents commute to their jobs in the Greater Birmingham area.

Over the past month, prices have continued to rise – in some places exploding by 10-to-20 cents a gallon almost overnight.

When the prices rose in 2005, there was a mass outcry from residents for our government to do something about the increasing fuel prices.

This year, it seems like things are a little different.

You don&8217;t see the weekly news story talking about gas prices, discount fuel opportunities or the station drive-offs that are all-too-common when prices go up.

You don&8217;t here about the local government cracking down on stations that try to milk an extra penny by inflating their prices.

And with an election only weeks away, it seems a little odd that few candidates are taking on the local, statewide and national fuel crisis.

Some of the possible reasons for this silence might prove to be very scary.

Could at be that we have given up on low fuel costs?

Have we resigned to the fact that gas prices will inevitably rise and there is nothing we can do about it?

I drive a daily commute of 54 miles round trip.

A small distance compared to some of those that my coworkers and other Shelby County residents are committed to each and every day.

Where does this leave us?

Has this problem gotten so big that our government has resigned to the fact that there is no real solution?

Alternative fuel sources seem to be decades away, and with an active hurricane season approaching rapidly, fuel shortages and higher prices are looming only weeks away.

It&8217;s discouraging to think that there isn&8217;t a better solution to the problem of rising gas prices.

While we cannot expect our local and state leaders to come up with a solution for this problem tomorrow, we can ask that they try and prepare for the future today.

I suggest that we call up our soon-to-be-elected officials and ask them what they&8217;ll be doing to ease the gas price squeeze once in office.

A little pressure from the power of the voter could prove to make that drive up to Birmingham just a little easier in the years to come