New Reality: $4 A Gallon At The Pump

Gas Prices Hit Miserable Milestone Just In Time For The Driving Season

(CBS/AP)  The average price of regular gas crept up to $4 a gallon for the first time over the weekend, passing the once-unthinkable milestone just in time for the peak summer travel season.

Prices at the pump are expected to keep climbing, especially after last week's furious surge in oil prices, which neared $140 a barrel in a record-shattering rally Friday.

While Americans who have to drive will feel the biggest squeeze, the increased prices also translate into higher costs for consumers and businesses, who will be forced to shoulder increased transportation costs of food and anything else that needs to be transported.

Gas prices rolled past their latest threshold Sunday, increasing to $4.005 overnight from $3.988 a gallon the day before, according to AAA and the Oil Price Information Service.

Of course, drivers in many parts of the country have already been paying well above that price for some time.

California has seen some of the highest prices; a gallon there now averages $4.436 a gallon, the most in the country. Missourians are paying the least at the pump, with a gallon in the Show-Me State selling for a relatively cheap $3.802 a gallon.

Truckers and others with diesel engines under the hood have it even worse off. A gallon of diesel now sells for $4.762, up nearly a penny overnight. Prices hit a record atop $4.79 at the end of May.

Skyrocketing oil prices are largely to blame for the surge. Soaring demand in Asia and elsewhere ensures global supplies remain tight even as Americans cut back; recent figures from the U.S. Energy Department's Energy Information Administration showed U.S. gasoline demand actually fell 1.4 percent over the last four weeks.

CBS News correspondent Priya David reports the rocketing cost of gas will effect every aspect of American life, reaching far beyond the fuel tank fill-up.

The cost of Kimberly-Clark diapers, maker of the popular Huggies brand, will go up by eight percent; Goodyear has raised the price of it's synthetic tires by 15 percent; Dow chemicals, maker of oil-based paints and plastic mobile phones, has increased its prices 20 percent across the board, reports David. All these items are manufactured using petroleum-based products.

Jordan Goodman, of MoneyAnswers.com, tells David the whole "lifestyle in America is based on cheap gas."

"We've built these suburbs all over the place on the assumption that we're going to have one dollar a gallon gas, not four or five dollar a gallon gas. So the whole infrastructure of the country is built, in a way, on something that doesn't exist anymore," says Goodman.

Crude prices shot up more than 13 percent late last week in their biggest two-day price gain in history. Benchmark light, sweet crude for July delivery officially finished the week at $138.54 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, but at one point jumped as high as $139.12.

The eye-popping prices are leading many motorists to rein in their gas consumption, either by cutting back on all but the most essential driving or looking anew at alternatives like public transportation. Sales of gas-guzzling vans and sport-utility vehicles are down, while those of fuel-efficient compacts and hybrids are on the rise.

Some drivers are getting creative.

Take Robert Torrey of Connecticut, the state tied with Alaska as the second most expensive state for gas. After leaving work in the town of Windsor Locks last week, he drove across the border into Massachusetts to fill up his van with $100 worth of gas. He figures he's saving about $10 per fill-up by traveling the 18 miles north.

"I let it run all the way down to the bottom before I get here," said Torrey, while pumping gas at the Pride station off I-91 in Springfield, Mass. "I try to combine it with other trips while I'm up here, so that makes it worth the drive."

[rudy654-2009]

As the economy tosses and tumbles due to big oil''s greed, let''s hope they feel real happy about their lack of concern.

[jumkey]

Thanks Mr. Bush!

Thanks Mr. Cheney!

Thanks brain dead Republicans!

Next time you fill up your tank remember who has been in power for the last 8 years. Remember who sleeps with the oil companies. Remember who is laughing at all you stupid stupid Americans who willingly give them more and more and more.

A vote for McCain and any other Republican is a vote for $10 a gallon gas.

HISTORY PROVES IT. VOTE YOUR POCKETBOOK IN NOVEMBER AMERICA.

[rudy654-2009]

Posted by jamesm12341 at 09:10 PM

So do you, but considerably more.

[rudy654-2009]

Posted by jamesm12341 at 09:11 PM

Your teacher, actually.

[sgtrds-e4]

$4.45 for mid-grade here in L.A. A few blocks away in Beverly Hills it''s more then $5 for full service premium.

[rudy654-2009]

Posted by jamesm12341 at 09:10 PM

This is James. James becomes angry at poor people who don''t suck it in and take it like the mice he wishes them to be. No, James hates welfare for the poor, hates healthcare for people who can''t afford it, hates anyone he considers not like himself. Yes, he is typical know-it-all, arrogant, rear end of a jackazz. He does believe in corporate welfare, he does believe in war and more war. He does believe that God shines His wonderous light only for the rich and well-to-do of this world, and the rest of you can just go to hell.

[paulg61-2009]

To All

Please take a look at this new technology on the way. A new hybrid has been developed that gets 150 miles per gallon. Sell link below.

http://www.afstrinity.com/index.htm

[rudy654-2009]

Posted by jamesm12341 at 09:18 PM

I''m sorry, but it''s a matter of explaining it to a horse''s azz that would have me waste my time with the likes of sorry sod like yourself. Get lost!

[paulg61-2009]

Regular unleaded is still under $4.00 here in NJ. I just paid $3.79

Hopefully, GM and Ford will purchase the new technology that will get us 150 miles per gallon.

http://www.afstrinity.com

[rudy654-2009]

Posted by jamesm12341 at 09:21 PM

You thought? I will give you credit for trying. Don''t you want to tell us about sweet baby Jesus?

[jumkey]

jamesm12341 is so delusional so stupid he thinks you''ll vote for $10 a gallon.

I he right America? Do you want to pay more?

Seriously, what argument does he have? Gas is pushing $5 a gallon AND HE BLAMES YOU FOR IT.

Get it?

Oil companies making record profits? Your fault.

Republican politicians rolling in your tax dollars? Your fault!

Bush and Cheney kissing the a$$ of terrorist Saudi Arabia? Ha Ha America! It''s YOUR FAULT!

If gas were $1000 a gallon he WOULD SAY EXACTLY THE SAME THING. FACTS DON''T MATTER.

A vote for a Republican, ANY Republican is a vote to get your pocket picked.

[rudy654-2009]

Posted by jamesm12341 at 09:23 PM

Come on man of god, tell us about baby Jesus.

[o_nolan1]

Maybe auto makers will finally start to get the message that gas guzzling suvs are a thing of the past. New technology in alternative fuels will drive the US economy in the coming years and if the big three want to survive, then they must adapt. To get rid of dependence on foreign oil will be consumer driven as long as there are enough products out there to make an impact. The oil companies are behind these price hikes, don''t let anyone tell you differently. They make record profits under these conditions.

[republic1776]

The prices are based on oil %u201Cfutures%u201D
The Liberal media is mostly responsible for the doom and gloom.
Most people believe what boobus TV tells them.
Isn%u2019t this great days for the democrats?
Coincidence that prices soar as the Election countdown gets closer.
The Arabs and terrorist praise the media $$$

[jumkey]

Listen to jamesm12341. Here''s what he is saying:

"PROVE THAT WE''RE PAYING HIGH PRICES! PROVE WE"RE BEING GOUGED!"

Get it? You have to PROVE TO HIM that $5 gas is to high.

Any guesses what he will say at $10? How about $20? $100?

It''s YOUR FAULT AMERICA. jamesm12341 says so.

He supports the terrorist nation of Saudi Arabia and their enablers and appeasers in the Republican Party.

Ask yourself this: why is he arguing for their interests and not yours?

[rudy654-2009]

Posted by o_nolan1 at 09:29 PM

I would also like to see a better mass transportation system develop as a result of this corporate greed. In the end, let''s hope big oil ends up hurting itself.

[shanev137]

Next month the headline will read:

Unthinkable: $5 A Gallon At The Pump


...and the next month after that:

Unthinkable: $6 A Gallon At The Pump


...and the next month after that:

Unthinkable: $7 A Gallon At The Pump

[rudy654-2009]

Posted by jumkey at 09:30 PM

Anybody who has objected to this *** of Americans, he has ridiculed accross the board. Now supposedly he wants a real conversation. Yeah right!

[iphyt4u]

$4.50 a gallon by the 4th of July. $5.00 when the next hurricane starts to develop. Republican George w. Bush, worst president ever, but...he did make his buddies rich.

[kiwi_chick]

jamesm, you certainly are a pompous and sanctimonious little twerp aren''t you. I''m quite sure you know why rudy and millions of others feel like big oil is the big bad bogeyman...they have posted higher NET profits in the last 2 years...while oil has steadily been climbing and just lately on a daily basis. Are the oil companies the reason the price of oil is out of control? No, but they sure as hell are enjoying every corporate greedy f*u*c*k*i*n*g minute of it and they are laughing all the way to the bank. The big wig oil company officers talk chit about how these record NET profits are being reinvested back into R&D and other such chit...the profits are being reinvested back into their big fat pockets. So JamesM...which nasty little oil company do you work for you obnoxious little weasel?

[o_nolan1]

I would also like to see a better mass transportation system develop as a result of this corporate greed. In the end, let''''s hope big oil ends up hurting itself.

Posted by rudy654

Absolutely spot on. North Amercia has been dragging behind Europe and Asia in this area for years. There is more of a reason to build high speed train lines than just gambling! This would also take the heat off of the airports and save on fuel as well. It could be a return to rail fascination again! It''s amazing how if takes these high gas prices for people and government to wake up. Governments should have been taking the lead in this area many years ago.

[obama8years]

$4.50 a gallon by the 4th of July. $5.00 when the next hurricane starts to develop. Republican George w. Bush, worst president ever, but...he did make his buddies rich.
-------------------------------
Has nothing to do with the president. If you want to point the Blame, point it at the environmentalist Democrats who do not want to drill. Also I might add that before the Democrats took over congress gas was 2 bucks. After 2 years of Democrat controled Congress we now have 4 bucks for gas. Food for thought.

[republic1776]

o_nolan1,
Oh it''s Goverments fault.
Hummm ever since 1980 I have bought cars that get 25 mpg plus.
Don''t blame the Goverment for people buying SUV''s
SUV became poplar because it was considerd a car and did NOT have to adhere to MPG standards.
I DO NOT want the Government making my choices...

[republic1776]

Typo Correction
"SUV became poplar because it was ''NOT'' considerd a car and did NOT have to adhere to MPG standards.

[fstop100]

Hey someone wake up G.W. and tell him we have a problem.

Maybe we can get some of that "free" Iraq Oil that they owe us.

[hermitdave]

How could it be unthinkable? We have Oil and GAS men in charge of our government. The reason we are being shafted is because this is now a dictatorship. Big business no longer fears any possible controls from congress. Case in point all the big oil guys that just laughed at the silly crooks in congress. Hang on, it is going to be a long bumpy ride,

[sgtrds-e4]

One of the main reasons Bush invaded Iraq was to create instability in the region driving speculators to shove up the price of oil and prompting oil companies to gouge the consumer at the pump. Mission accomplished.

[deacon20081]

Has nothing to do with the president. If you want to point the Blame, point it at the environmentalist Democrats who do not want to drill. Also I might add that before the Democrats took over congress gas was 2 bucks. After 2 years of Democrat controled Congress we now have 4 bucks for gas. Food for thought.



Posted by obama8years
------------------------------------------------------
Republican spin doctor wanna be huh? Sure, believe your King George and his OIL barron benefactors are not involved with the looting of the nation....
You may convince yourself of that.

But no one else.... with a Thinking Mind will believe it.

[stevex47]

obama8years,
"Has nothing to do with the president. If you want to point the Blame, point it at the environmentalist Democrats who do not want to drill."

Again, THERE IS NO OIL SHORTAGE !

How did the Bush family make their fortunes over the last 60 years?

And who ARE their business partners?

WHY does your king Bush kiss their hands and feet reich wing nut jobs? Ain''t that a little hypocritical of you yet again?

Oh in case it went over you. THATS WHY GAS PRICES ARE CRIMINAL. NOT THE MEDIA, HA,

[shanev137]

It''s really hard to fathom how stupid the general population is about gas/oil prices, supply and demand and speculators in the market.

It''s so simple a 9 year old can figure out what''s going on.

With that last brain cell in your head, try to think about the facts for moment.

In 2001, oil was trading at about $18 a barrel....now it is at $140 a barrel.

That is a 630% increase in less than 7 years.

In less than a year and a half, oil prices have gone up over %150.

During the last 7 years global production/demand of oil increased by 15% (74 mbpd to 85 mbpd).

Now....go head and tell me what and where the 630% increase in price came from?

[jumkey]

Ever seen the pictures of George Bush holding hands with Prince Bandar of Saudi Arabia?

Don''t you remember just a couple of weeks ago when the appeaser and terrorist enabler Bush went hat-in-hand to the Saudis and mewed some smirking BS about "can you produce more oil?" They all had a real laugh over that one, since there is no shortage of oil. "No thanks" said our terrorist friends from Saudi Arabia. Bush smirked "oh well" and gas went up another $1 a gallon.

Oh wait America, THEY WERE LAUGHING AT YOU. They were laughing ALL THE WAY TO THE BANK.

GAS PRICES ARE THE FAULT OF THE PARTY IN POWER, THE PARTY IN POWER FOR THE LAST 8 YEARS.

A vote for a REPUBLICAN - ANY REPUBLICAN - is a vote for higher gas prices.

You choose America.

[sgtrds-e4]

If you want to point the Blame, point it at the environmentalist Democrats who do not want to drill.

Posted by obama8years

The environmentalist democrats have been willing all along to allow oil exploration and drilling in ANWR, but only IF the oil companies agree that the oil will be processed and used ONLY in the US and not be sold to China. They won''t agree to that so they don''t get to drill.

[o_nolan1]

I DO NOT want the Government making my choices...

Posted by republic1776

You have no choice. If you do not want your elected government to make choices for you than maybe you should move to Somalia where it''s every man for himself. You don''t seem to understand the role that government plays in peoples lives. This entire issue is being stunted because of attitudes like yours that keep any issues that need resolving from moving forward. It''s a "me" mentality instead of a "we" mentality. Would you rather have big business make the choices for you? If that is the case, then look forward to making $5 an hour very soon, with no benefits of course, and retirement? Well you will just have to fend for yourself. But that''s the choice you made!

[condumbism]

John McCain is an obstructionist Republicon who has sold out to the interests of his number one sponsor: Corporate America. A vote for John McCain assures all of US $10 + per gallon gasoline. You think that I am kidding you? See for yourself at: johnmccain.com (Israel has never had a better partner in the US government than John McCain.)

[rudy654-2009]

After 2 years of Democrat controled Congress we now have 4 bucks for gas. Food for thought.




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by obama8years at 09:42 PM

You are really stupid if you think the rest of us are that stupid.

[o_nolan1]

After 2 years of Democrat controled Congress we now have 4 bucks for gas. Food for thought.
Posted by obama8years at 09:42 PM

It''s taken the congress two years just to figure out what mess to tackle first!

[ontheleft]

Big thanks to the Republicans for running this country into the ground.

[condumbism]

John McCains prescription narcotic drug addicted wife Cindy recently said "I am proud to be an American." $4.50 gasoline. $4 per gallon for milk. $10 TRILLION dollar US debt. $500 BILLION annual interest to service the US debt. Cindy McCain is an out of touch Repiglicon *****!

[radiob-2009]

None of the parties are speaking of implementing a nationwide plan to convert autos to run off of natural/propane/methane gas which when converted from BTU''s to gallons equals .83 a gallon compared to $4+ gallon for gasoline. Some links on how to do it, the cost and the age of this technology.

http://www.motherearthnews.com/Green-Transportation/1972-05-01/Convert-Your-Car-To-Propane.aspx
http://www.green-trust.org/2000/biofuel/batesmethane.htm
http://www.cdnauto.org/propane_or_natural_gas.asp
http://gas2.org/2008/04/29/natural-gas-cars-cng-fuel-almost-free-in-some-parts-of-the-country/
Interesting that in Utah in the one link natural gas cost .63 a gallon.

[o_nolan1]

Big thanks to the Republicans for running this country into the ground.

Posted by ontheleft

They have actually run the whole world into the ground. How many people out there are feeling sick that they voted Republican again in 2004? It will take a decade at least to fix these mistakes and turn the economy around. China is right behind you now and it''s going to be tough going.

[jumkey]

Here''s the thing. The bottom line to all things here.

Oil prices will rise and fall. Production and demand will wax and wane based on things both within and outside out control.

Regardless of the circumstances Republicans WILL BLAME THE OTHER SIDE TO SECURE THEIR OWN POWER - even when they themselves are contributers to the problem. They will lie, cheat and steal with impunity to protect "their" interests, and these are not America''s interests.

We need a government that acts IN AMERICA''S interests, not the interests of the party. The Republicans have shown time and time again that they are not this government. They don''t care about America.

We can have a rational energy policy, we can be energy independent, we can have lower gas prices BUT THESE WILL NEVER OCCUR WITH REPUBLICANS IN POWER.

NEVER.

[radiob-2009]

So lets stop with the party politics and propose changes that are realistic and affordable which neithe party is doing for us.

[o_nolan1]

John McCains prescription narcotic drug addicted wife Cindy recently said "I am proud to be an American." $4.50 gasoline. $4 per gallon for milk. $10 TRILLION dollar US debt. $500 BILLION annual interest to service the US debt. Cindy McCain is an out of touch Repiglicon *****!

Posted by ConDumbism

I agree with the issue you brought up but not the tone. We don''t want to sink to the depths of the right do we? Let''s take the high ground here.

[republic1776]

o_nolan1,
Do you live in America.
Try reading the Constitution!
LIMITED Goverment.
It don''t say ANYTHING about health care.
Nothing about EPA, CIA, FDA, FHA!
Big business is sucessful because people enpower them by buying their products. What a concept!
Just like the biggest cause of Globol warming......
"the Sun"!

[shanev137]

I didn''t think any Republicans could explain the 630% price increase in oil during the last 7 years.

Where did you all run off to?

[republic1776]

o_nolan1,
If "Drug Addicted" Cindy would have murdered somebody.?
Liberals say.....Giv''em another chance.

[radiob-2009]

Okay folks name a politician that has proposed converting our autos to run off of natural/propane/methane gas which would create jobs, end our dependence on foreign energy and is cleaner for the enviroment plus your autos will last longer.

[o_nolan1]

We can have a rational energy policy, we can be energy independent, we can have lower gas prices BUT THESE WILL NEVER OCCUR WITH REPUBLICANS IN POWER.

NEVER.

Posted by jumkey

As long as the Republicans have big business in their back pockets, (and front pockets) you are right, the interests of the people will never be acted on. It is like sending a kid into a candy store and locking the door and telling that kid not to eat anything. They just can''t help themselves. The problem is, they own the store.

[omega39-2009]

Okay folks name a politician that has proposed converting our autos to run off of natural/propane/methane gas which would create jobs, end our dependence on foreign energy and is cleaner for the enviroment plus your autos will last longer.

Posted by radiob

I read last week that money is starting to come out of oil futures and going into natural gas.

[radiob-2009]

Just what I thought this forum would be political and how short our memorys are, when the first hike in prices occurred from OPEC and supply diminished it was a democratic congress and a republican president, 28 years later and neither party has found a solution for the American people when the solutions have been around since the 40 ties.