Stock up in December.

Did you know that hot fuel was costing you money last summer? Actually, I had never even heard of hot fuel until I saw an article by Steve Everly of McClatchy newspapers explaining the phenomenon. It seems that gasoline is supposed to be sold at a temperature of 60 degrees, but the standard is not enforced. And, writes Everly, every degree over the 60-degree standard diminishes the energy in a gallon of gas, because the gas expands as it is heated. Fuel pumps could adjust for temperature change, but gasoline companies are naturally not eager to make the adjustment, because the more the customer has to pay, the more they make.

Government regulation seems like the obvious answer. And the case for it is made, unconsciously I'm sure, by Anne Peebles of Shell Oil, who, in the course of arguing that Shell can't do anything about the problem, tells Everly, "Temperature correction is not something one company can do. It would have to be [a] regulatory requirement that puts all facilities on the same page."