Gas just hit $4.65 in southern california. Why?

I put gas last week and it was just over $4.00. My mom told me that it was over $4.60 and sure enough I saw several gas stations with that price as I went to get some food a few minutes ago. I don't know how much this means for people who don't regularly commute, but this is insane. I feel like the Israel drone shooting is the excuse this time.

My mom talked to one of the gas people and they said it would be even higher tomorrow so there's that to look forward to.

Glad I'm not in Cali, but it is still expensive as hell, can we blame Obama for this or is it still Bush?

@Nightriff:

What about long-brewing economic trends?

@Video_Game_King: Good question, I think it still from what Jimmy Carter did, that or China, but they don't care

how about humanity's dogged resistance to alternative/clean/renewable fuels?

can't wait for society to crumble when gas runs out and we regress to 18th century living and cannot access any remaining fossil fuels anymore.

That's nearly $1.00 more than what I'm paying over here in the southeastern US, but I guess you can just chalk that up to cost of living differences as well as your location relative to major oil refineries.

Americans always complaining about gas prices when they're FAR more expensive everywhere else.

@Nightriff: Obama lost the debate and therefore caused the increase in gas prices! My logic is flawless.

@CL60: Hey at least your prices are due to enormous taxes instead of arbitrary bullshit

Oil is expensive and we're getting it from people who fucking hate us.

@Fredchuckdave said:

@Nightriff: Obama lost the debate and therefore caused the increase in gas prices! My logic is flawless

That's not what he's saying.

@ripelivejam said:

how about humanity's dogged resistance to alternative/clean/renewable fuels?

Don't you mean America's resistance? I mean, don't quite a few other countries tax the shit out of gas so nobody uses it?

@CL60 said:

Americans always complaining about gas prices when they're FAR more expensive everywhere else.

Is it actually more expensive or just a higher number?

@CL60 said:

Americans always complaining about gas prices when they're FAR more expensive everywhere else.

@ripelivejam said:

how about humanity's dogged resistance to alternative/clean/renewable fuels?

can't wait for society to crumble when gas runs out and we regress to 18th century living and cannot access any remaining fossil fuels anymore.

So how 'bout you go and supply all of us with those cars, eh? Some people can't afford them. In fact, a lot of people can't afford them.

EDIT: Doesn't help that a whole lot of those cars that don't use gasoline are fuck-ugly. Not all of them, but a lot of them are.

@Video_Game_King: No, that's what I'm saying.

Alternative energy is a slow moving progression worldwide, though the green party is a pretty significant presence in most European countries. China is ultimately going to be as big of an issue as the US with regards to energy wastefulness, but they'll also be powerful enough to squash everyone in unison if they so desired.

One litre of gasoline in Denmark is around $2.25, making it around 8.50 a gallon. Jealous? :c

@Video_Game_King examples? are there countries that rely on hybrid/electric cars solely or public trans/bicycles/etc? just curious, not calling out.

actually i would think alternative fuels at this time would be a luxury only 1st world countries could afford.

@golguin: California has seen a mix of both refinery issues and transmission problems. Recently, a major power outage at one of California's biggest refineries led to a week-long shortage in the state, and that has caused this most recent spike. You should see prices level off, as the refinery is back in full form; it just takes a week or so for the market to feel that.

Also, this is further hampered by California's anti-pollution laws which require a specific mix of gas during the months of April to October. This mix requires a more consistent supply, and right now, the volatile market has led to problems in getting the right amounts for the blend. This means that there is generally lower supply that can go out to pumps than is actually available. So, expect to see further issues until November when prices should return to $4.00 or below if the market doesn't see any more large spikes in costs.

Hang in there. The $4.65 - $5.00 will probably tick up a bit in the next few days, but you'll see relief within the next two weeks. You may still have above $4.00 gas until November, but your area may also see prices come down below that if the market cools down a bit and volatility is less of an issue in the state. California is just facing a particularly rough time at the moment, as the inventory is simply not keeping up. It's an unusual situation, and hopefully they will be better prepared for when any similar issues arise next year.

Trees only convert about 50% of the co2 into breathable air every year. Eventually we will have to evolve or we will run out of air. Same thing will happen with gas.

Glad I'm not in Cali, but it is still expensive as hell, can we blame Obama for this or is it still Bush?

@Nightriff said:

Glad I'm not in Cali, but it is still expensive as hell, can we blame Obama for this or is it still Bush?

You can't blame any president for gas prices as they have relatively nothing to do with them. If you want someone to blame for the high prices, blame the people who buy and trade futures. They are the ones that control the price of gas.

@believer258 said:

@ripelivejam said:

how about humanity's dogged resistance to alternative/clean/renewable fuels?

can't wait for society to crumble when gas runs out and we regress to 18th century living and cannot access any remaining fossil fuels anymore.

So how 'bout you go and supply all of us with those cars, eh? Some people can't afford them. In fact, a lot of people can't afford them.

EDIT: Doesn't help that a whole lot of those cars that don't use gasoline are fuck-ugly. Not all of them, but a lot of them are.

This is hilarious, good show unintentional or not.

@Droop said:

One litre of gasoline in Denmark is around $2.25, making it around 8.50 a gallon. Jealous? :c

Same thing in Finland, $8.3 a gallon. Stop complaining you lucky bastards!

@Godlyawesomeguy said:

@JasonR86 said:

Oil is expensive and we're getting it from people who fucking hate us.

You mean Mexico, Canada, and domestic sources? AKA- The places where the United States gets its gasoline.

...yes.

Why do people live in California? Everything seems to suck there.

@ripelivejam said:

how about humanity's dogged resistance to alternative/clean/renewable fuels?

Because the big oil corporation have been cock blocking it for decades. It's not Humanity that as fault but few individuals. Alternative energy will happen it's a mater of when.

@Godlyawesomeguy said:

@JasonR86 said:

Oil is expensive and we're getting it from people who fucking hate us.

You mean Mexico, Canada, and domestic sources? AKA- The places where the United States gets its gasoline.

Canada hates the SHIT out of us

@ripelivejam said:

how about humanity's dogged resistance to alternative/clean/renewable fuels?

can't wait for society to crumble when gas runs out and we regress to 18th century living and cannot access any remaining fossil fuels anymore.

You can't blame all of humanity for what seems like society's disinterest in alternative energy. Blame the mega corporations/politicians who are terrified of their profits shrinking. I'd say that the majority of people would love it if we found alternative energy sources, its just hard/impossible to research them unless you're rich.

@WilliamHenry: I was joking and it was more a stab at how people blamed Bush for every single thing and Obama gets away with a lot.

@Godlyawesomeguy said:

@JasonR86 said:

@Godlyawesomeguy said:

@JasonR86 said:

Oil is expensive and we're getting it from people who fucking hate us.

You mean Mexico, Canada, and domestic sources? AKA- The places where the United States gets its gasoline.

...yes.

Do we have a feud of some sort with Canada and Mexico?

I'm sure I could gin up some sort of a reasoning. Canada has an inferiority complex. Mexico is mad at our growing meth trade.

@Nightriff: Watch more fox news! Entertainment at its finest.

It's amazing how quickly this became about some discussion of alternative energy sources, overpopulation, and America-bashing. Come on, guys. This is embarrassing. It's like an Internet thread stereotype.

The specific question was why gas prices suddenly shot up in Southern California. It doesn't have to do with the US getting oil from people that hate them or long term economic trends. It is a temporary supply shortage exacerbated by poor planning, recent market volatility, and local public policy. These factors led to a temporary jump in prices in the state which should ease in the coming weeks.

@CL60 said:

Americans always complaining about gas prices when they're FAR more expensive everywhere else.

@Fredchuckdave: I don't watch News Channels and if I do turn to them I try to balance between CNN and Fox, get a taste of the extremes

@Fredchuckdave said:

@believer258 said:

@ripelivejam said:

how about humanity's dogged resistance to alternative/clean/renewable fuels?

can't wait for society to crumble when gas runs out and we regress to 18th century living and cannot access any remaining fossil fuels anymore.

So how 'bout you go and supply all of us with those cars, eh? Some people can't afford them. In fact, a lot of people can't afford them.

EDIT: Doesn't help that a whole lot of those cars that don't use gasoline are fuck-ugly. Not all of them, but a lot of them are.

This is hilarious, good show unintentional or not.

So disprove me then. Show me that a person in the lower working class could get a hold of a good electric car. Someone that makes, say, $35,000 - $40,000 a year.

Not sure if there is a first world country that pays less for gas than America so your tears will be wasted on the international community.

@Fredchuckdave said:

@believer258 said:

@ripelivejam said:

how about humanity's dogged resistance to alternative/clean/renewable fuels?

can't wait for society to crumble when gas runs out and we regress to 18th century living and cannot access any remaining fossil fuels anymore.

So how 'bout you go and supply all of us with those cars, eh? Some people can't afford them. In fact, a lot of people can't afford them.

EDIT: Doesn't help that a whole lot of those cars that don't use gasoline are fuck-ugly. Not all of them, but a lot of them are.

This is hilarious, good show unintentional or not.

it's cool for humanity to blindly live on in ignorance of its own plight, its own selfish devouring of resources, and its own rampant overpopulation. yeah it's expensive, but it's a matter of maintaining our current society and way of living or having it come crashing down. we need to set in place the infrastructure to allow these changes to start happening. yeah it won't happen overnight, it probably will never happen, but we have to try for the sake of our species.

overpopulation sickens me the most. why are so many people so eager to bring more lives into an already troubled world like this? we should know better.

In Finland, where i live, one gallon of gas in dollars costs almost 9 dollars.

@TruthTellah said:

It's amazing how quickly this became about some discussion of alternative energy sources and America-bashing. Come on, guys.

The specific question was why gas prices suddenly shot up in Southern California. It doesn't have to do with the US getting oil from people that hate them or long term economic trends. It is a temporary supply shortage exacerbated by poor planning, recent market volatility, and local public policy. These factors led to a temporary jump in prices in the state which should ease in the coming weeks.

yes cause we will always have fossil fuels, forever, until the end of time, with no consequences...

@Nightriff: Naw, CNN is semi-balanced and thus has the worst ratings next to PBS. MSNBC is what you want if you're going for liberal extremes: http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/countdown-with-keith-olbermann/805561

@ripelivejam said:

@Fredchuckdave said:

@believer258 said:

@ripelivejam said:

how about humanity's dogged resistance to alternative/clean/renewable fuels?

can't wait for society to crumble when gas runs out and we regress to 18th century living and cannot access any remaining fossil fuels anymore.

So how 'bout you go and supply all of us with those cars, eh? Some people can't afford them. In fact, a lot of people can't afford them.

EDIT: Doesn't help that a whole lot of those cars that don't use gasoline are fuck-ugly. Not all of them, but a lot of them are.

This is hilarious, good show unintentional or not.

it's cool for humanity to blindly live on in ignorance of its own plight, its own selfish devouring of resources, and its own rampant overpopulation. yeah it's expensive, but it's a matter of maintaining our current society and way of living or having it come crashing down. we need to set in place the infrastructure to allow these changes to start happening. yeah it won't happen overnight, it probably will never happen, but we have to try for the sake of our species.

overpopulation sickens me the most. why are so many people so eager to bring more lives into an already troubled world like this? we should know better.

Are you suggesting that we tell everyone that they can't have kids, or can only have one kid like China does?

Boy, this thread is derailing fast.

Well, no stopping overpopulation really so the best goal is to make sure you have the largest sustainable % of the population once everything goes to shit, which is basically what China is doing.

http://uschina.usc.edu/w_usci/showarticle.aspx?articleID=18065&AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1

i'm just saying there are much larger problems then "oh gas is more expensive right now hopefully it'll be cheaper later"

it's a combination of things that are leading to an eventual complete depletion in earth resources, fossil fuels included. i'm sorry, i'm just kind of sickened by the shortsightedness of people as a whole. i know it's a really really big issue, and something that can't be solved by one little thread or overnight. just airing my grievances, i suppose. these are things that have to be tackled with, if only slowly and surely.

as i can tell some people already have specifics on the immediate problem. so i guess i'll show myself out.

@Fredchuckdave: Probably right but CNN is Left Wing enough, can't take any of these channels seriously for too long anyways

@ripelivejam: I don't think we're running out of oil just yet.

@MAGZine said:

@ripelivejam: I don't think we're running out of oil just yet.

what about when we do? do you just want to assume it's there forever, not try and have a contingency plan?

@ripelivejam: We're actively working on a contingency plan. Ever hear of these things called "Nissan Leaf", "chevy Volt" "Tesla Model S"?

@MAGZine said:

@ripelivejam: We're actively working on a contingency plan. Ever hear of these things called "Nissan Leaf", "chevy Volt" "Tesla Model S"?

yes, just don't think it's coming fast enough IMO. again it's a major undertaking, i'm aware of that. just feels like time is running out to me.

Does anyone here remember the scene in I Am Legend when they show the gas prices on that old gas station's sign? I thought of that when I read the thread title.