Regulation of refrigerant production and costs of sulfur have been said to be the prime culprits for the rising costs of R-22. The price spikes in gasoline/diesel is another question. A local newspaper near where I lived tried to explain the whys of the gas issue in a three-part series. I didn’t understand Part 1 at all — so I never read the other two parts.

I have not only read about refrigerant cost issues, but also written about them quite a bit. But that’s not to say I understand it all that much more than I do the gasoline dynamics.

Mark Menos of Kirkwood Heating & A/C Co. in St. Louis may well be voicing the thoughts of many contractors who are now facing both issues when it comes to the cost of refrigerants in the back of their vans and the cost of fuel in the tanks of there vans.

“I think we are being price gouged on R-22. Manufacturers have tripled the price simply because they can. Same with gasoline. We buy it with no other choices.”

OK, there has to be other explanations, else why would I try to write about refrigerant costs and my counterparts in the secular media try to do the same with gasoline?

If any of us really get the hang of either topic, you’ll be the first to know.