double U teee EFFF?!!?!?

[jemz]

So I was driving by my local gas station, my eyes automatically taking note of the gas prices when I had to do a double take.


The cost of regular unleaded is $3.22.

O_O

When yesterday morning it was $3.11 and the day before that it was $3.02. I understand about the situation in Iran affecting the gas prices but dammit, 20 cents in less than 38 hours? And there are rumors stating that oil companies are reporting a record high of earnings.

How much are gas prices in your area? I know I'm fairly California-centric but it always seems to me that California and New York get the highest prices simply for having the most amount of consumers.

Now I have to go dig up my MicroEconomics books to figure out a way to explain this to myself. Something about supply and demand but shouldn't it be that people who demand it more pay a lesser rate than those who do not consume at such a quick pace? Or am I just smoking crack and need to use that $3.22 to buy myself a cup of coffee to get lucid and do some more research on it?


Geeez. Living here is getting damn expensive! >:-[

Here are some articles for you to take a gander at.

*The Governator taking some initiative on the issue

*Some fun article looking at prices elsewhere in the nation and beyond. <~ I don't feel as bad in paying fairly high prices but the public transportation system in the bay area isn't as nifty as it is in NYC or London.

* Driving speed limit may be more energy efficient?

*That SF Chronicle article that article number 2(above) was referring to.

hmph. Time to take another look at that Toyota Hybrid I was checking out last year.



Ohhhh. And another interesting article that made me think of bluebyyou and her man's house in the ghetto EPA. Of course, if you know anything about real estate, you'll realize that zip codes are really, really important when buying a home in California. Zip codes help determine the value of the home as well as what sort of education system your future kids will go to.

Most expensive zip codes?

y0 cousin, that half mile between your house and the other side saved you a couple hundred thousand bucks. >:-]

Comments

[kiana.livejournal.com]

Yeah, gas was at 3.15 here yesterday, and I'm horrified to see what it is today. :P

[thistlefinch.livejournal.com]

Gas is anywhere from 3.29 to 3.50 in San Diego right now.

[anoneknewmoose.livejournal.com]

Ours jumped up about a week or two ago; it's been holding steady at $2.84 for a few days now.

I've been hearing for years that 55 is the most efficient speed for most vehicles. Sigh. *vows to slow down* Unfortunately the majority of my driving is city, so, blah. Have got to start taking the bus.

[bluebyyou.livejournal.com]

Gas prices does not result from the Iraq war. It's more a product of supply and demand.

China and India are needing more of the oil now since their industries are growing.

People are blaming Bush for all their problems, but this is NOT an overnight thing. The democrats (clinton) vetoed a bill that was proposed 10 years ago which would allow the US to drill in Alaska and other areas in the US. If you leave the country to the Democrats, this place is going to be left in ruins.

In 2004, United States refineries produced over 90 percent of the gasoline used in the United States. Although the United States is the world’s third largest crude oil producer, less than 40 percent of the crude oil used by U.S. refineries was produced in the United States. Net petroleum imports (imports minus exports) account for 58 percent of our total petroleum consumption. About 50 percent of our petroleum imports are from countries in the Western Hemisphere, with 19 percent from the Persian Gulf, and 18 percent from Africa and 13 percent from other regions.

[underlucius.livejournal.com]

try 0.98pence a litre. that's what it is over here.

That works about about seven dollars a gallon
.

grrrr

[rightsock.livejournal.com]

Sadly, I can't figure where I found the chart.

Someone showed a prius' mpg at different speeds; 25, 35, 45, 55, 65, 75, 85, and it was prety constant upto 55, dropped off a tiny bit to 65, and dropped off a LOT after 75-85.

Not surprising. air resistance in a car is the biggest energy drain. it's V^3. that's velocity CUBED. it's huge.

Surprisingly, the problem is fundamentally because we use wheels. If someone could invent a levitation system, we'd suddenly get many times more efficient, because the top of the tire is traveling forward at 2x your normal velocity. that's a lot of air friction.

airplanes get surprisingly good gas mileage when compared to cars. and a lot of the small 2-6 seaters actually do use regular car engines (with some modifications due to the thinner air at altitude).

however, you can't do that on the ground because two vehicles nose-to-tail doesn't work with propellers.

[closet-bound.livejournal.com]

2.91, when i bought gas yesterday. You know, I really need to move closer to work. *sigh*

hello, by the way:) i hope life is treating you well, aside from rediculous gas prices:)

[awaywithpixie.livejournal.com]

I always smile when I see Americans complain about the price of fuel. I just did some conversions, and we've been paying about the equivalent of $3.85/us gallon in Australia for quite a while. That will likely go up to $4 very soon.

The whole economics of fuel prices is a subject in itself, suffice to say that it is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OPEC (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OPEC) that truly controls the price of fuel, and they are currently raising the price per barrel to help Iraq service its debts and pay for the war on that side...

[easybeef.livejournal.com]

Here on base they had to put pieces of paper with 3 in sharpie on them on the dollar amount because gas has never gone above $3 before on base (and that's the cheap stuff). It's about 20 cents more in town. I hate to see what it is in Big Sur--last time I went down there it was about $2.50 in town but $3.75 there, 'cause there's two gas stations (right by each other) for 40 miles either way. I'll bet it's bad in Needles too, I think that's the only gas for about 100 miles on I-40.

Bah.

[dramedy.livejournal.com]

It's like, two seventy something here.

This is why I love my little 30mpg in the city car.

and why we now have a ford escape--HYBRID that gets 36mpg in the city. yeah.

[thysanotus.livejournal.com]

I paid $1.31 Australian a litre yesterday. It was $1.38 AUD a litre today.

Am not sure what that converts to, sorry.

[preachelectric]

Yesterday it was $1.45 AUD per litre. The day before that it was $1.30 AUD, which was considered high. Cost my dad $90 for a tank of petrol.

[etoilenoir959.livejournal.com]

Lucky, cheapest around here is $3.29 a gallon. *looks at wallet and cries*