# Gas hits $2.21 a gallon -- where's the liberal media, dammit? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 5, 2005, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-hits-2-21-a-gallon-wheres-the-liberal-media-dammit/297828 "2005-04-05T12:24:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Maeglin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@Maeglin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maeglin)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-hits-2-21-a-gallon-wheres-the-liberal-media-dammit/297828/21 "2005-04-05T13:54:54Z")
The current high pump costs are not driven by the price of crude but by the price of refining. The US has just about hit its current refining capacity, which appears insufficient to meet world demand. BP revealed just yesterday that its own refinining margins are rapidly contracting. Demand is certainly robust enough for refinining companies to further increase these costs. I am sure that Bush would love to solve this problem by inducing oil companies to build more refineries, but _somehow_ I doubt that this idea would gain much traction on the bongo circuit. ---
**Author:** ![PinkMarabou](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ec9cab/32.png) [@PinkMarabou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PinkMarabou)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-hits-2-21-a-gallon-wheres-the-liberal-media-dammit/297828/22 "2005-04-05T13:58:30Z")
> [@Mama Zappa](#): > > I routinely paid around 1.35 a gallon around 1981 (and I have reliable records showing I paid something like 1.50 on a trip to California in 1985). Assuming a 3% inflation rate (no clue what the overall rate has been in the past 24 years, so that’s really a WAG), today’s price should be 2.66. So we’re still getting off much cheaper than we “should” be. The complaints are because most of that price change has happened in the past 2-ish years, after nearly 2 decades of insanely low prices. > > Get over it. While I agree about inflation, can you explain why oil companies have made record profits in the last year or two? ---
**Author:** ![RandomLetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8edcca/32.png) [@RandomLetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandomLetters)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-hits-2-21-a-gallon-wheres-the-liberal-media-dammit/297828/23 "2005-04-05T14:03:40Z")
> [@PinkMarabou](#): > > While I agree about inflation, can you explain why oil companies have made record profits in the last year or two? The main limit on how much gasoline can be produced is the number of refinerys, IIRC. Since it cost the oil companies the same amount to refine gasoline whether it cost $1.00 a gallon or $3.00, they will have high profits. ---
**Author:** ![Arwin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/51bf81/32.png) [@Arwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arwin)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-hits-2-21-a-gallon-wheres-the-liberal-media-dammit/297828/24 "2005-04-05T14:10:53Z")
I just paid 1.32 this weekend. Euro. Per liter. I’d laugh if I’d pay US prices, which are less than half what we pay. Ah well. The main cause is the rise of demand in China, and that doesn’t look to slow down for a while, so expect prices to become and remain high structurally, and more so as reserves run out. We’re soon approaching the time when we really don’t have enough of the stuff to go round mindlessly consuming it, and alternatives will become really important. All hail to California for experimenting early with alternatives. Go Prius, with your 1 liter = 23 km hybrid tech, and yay for those clever enough to install a gas tank, as Shell has twice as much Gas in its reserves as it has oil. Alternatives will have to become mainstream soon, we better get on with it. ---
**Author:** ![UncleBeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/977dab/32.png) [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-hits-2-21-a-gallon-wheres-the-liberal-media-dammit/297828/25 "2005-04-05T14:18:33Z")
The falling dollar relative to other currencies _might_ just have a little to do with it, too. ---
**Author:** ![Arwin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/51bf81/32.png) [@Arwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arwin)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-hits-2-21-a-gallon-wheres-the-liberal-media-dammit/297828/26 "2005-04-05T14:26:34Z")
> [@UncleBeer](#): > > The falling dollar relative to other currencies _might_ just have a little to do with it, too. Not for us - that just makes oil cheaper, normally. Imagine what would happen here if the dollar went up, oil would be even more expensive. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-hits-2-21-a-gallon-wheres-the-liberal-media-dammit/297828/27 "2005-04-05T14:52:12Z")
> [@Arwin](#): > > Not for us - that just makes oil cheaper, normally. Imagine what would happen here if the dollar went up, oil would be even more expensive. I don’t think that’s true. Over here one of the reasons we keep hearing for the rise in oil _is_ the fall of the dollar. So for you the price of oil ought to be more or less stable, or at least relatively so. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-hits-2-21-a-gallon-wheres-the-liberal-media-dammit/297828/28 "2005-04-05T14:53:32Z")
> [@Rune](#): > > Anyway since you decided to turn the mighty dollar into a wood currency . What do you mean by a wood currency? That it floats? I thought every currency floated nowadays. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-hits-2-21-a-gallon-wheres-the-liberal-media-dammit/297828/29 "2005-04-05T14:58:55Z")
Only 2.21 USD/US gallon? [That’s low](http://www.torontogasprices.com/retail_price_chart.aspx). (On the linked chart, select Toronto, Vancouver, and El Paso as the three places, then hit the “US $ / G” link. ) ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-hits-2-21-a-gallon-wheres-the-liberal-media-dammit/297828/30 "2005-04-05T15:17:53Z")
What’s with the bongos ? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-hits-2-21-a-gallon-wheres-the-liberal-media-dammit/297828/31 "2005-04-05T15:24:16Z")
FWIW, I refuelled Friday in Birch Bay, WA. $2.40/gallon. When I lived in L.A., gas was routinely $0.30/gallon more expensive than in WA. I wonder what it is now? Regarding European prices. One big advantage Europeans have is their public transportation infrastructure. In many cases, people can travel bu underground/subway/metro, by train, or by bus. In the U.S., things tend to be spread out more. _Some_ places have good public transportation, but not all. L.A. has buses, but they’re not very nice. The subway system was never useful to me because I lived on the West Side where it doesn’t go. Housing prices are so high in many areas that many people have long commutes – with no public transportation. In the U.S. we’re pretty much a ‘captive audience’. I’m still unemployed, so higher prices are hitting me harder than they do for a lot of people. When I do get a job, it’s likely to be in Bellingham 22 miles away. > [@Arwin](#): > > All hail to California for experimenting early with alternatives. California’s emmissions laws have been called ‘draconian’. Still, when I lived in L.A. it seemed as if half of the vehicles on the roads were SUVs. I do have an compact SUV (Jeep Cherokee) in which I’ve gotten as much as 25 mpg. But with the heavily congested roads, more typical mileage was 18 mpg. I rode a motorcycle half of the time. One gets 50 mpg, and the other gets about 40. Much quicker and more fun than a four-wheeler, too. But bikes are a bit problematic up here in WA. No lane splitting, and much of the year the weather is not good for riding. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-hits-2-21-a-gallon-wheres-the-liberal-media-dammit/297828/32 "2005-04-05T15:24:36Z")
> [@UncleBeer](#): > > The falling dollar relative to other currencies _might_ just have a little to do with it, too. Over what period of time? Right now, a euro costs ~$1.284, which is right about where it traded five months ago. But US gasoline prices have gone up appreciably during that time, as has the dollar-denominated price of a barrel of crude. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-hits-2-21-a-gallon-wheres-the-liberal-media-dammit/297828/33 "2005-04-05T15:25:45Z")
$2.21? Suckas. I tanked up for the paltry sum of $2.09/ gallon. Still cheaper than OJ. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-hits-2-21-a-gallon-wheres-the-liberal-media-dammit/297828/34 "2005-04-05T15:31:39Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > NO BLOOD FOR OIL! > > NO BLOOD FOR OIL! > > Regards, > Shodan Well, _duuuuuuuuuh._ Call it part of the “culture of life”. Should we really ask soldiers to die to keep oil prices low? Shouldn’t we first try strategies to use less oil? And what’s the cost-benefit ratio here - at what number of lives lost per billions of dollars saved are we coming out ahead on the deal? Not that it’s even guaranteed to work. To the extent that that was part of the motivation for the Iraq war, it’s kinda backfired. ---
**Author:** ![GaWd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f08c70/32.png) [@GaWd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaWd)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-hits-2-21-a-gallon-wheres-the-liberal-media-dammit/297828/35 "2005-04-05T15:32:49Z")
Bongos=hippies I believe. Nifty swipe at Democrats. Wood currency=currency not backed by gold I believe. GOld standard abandoned in 1978(?). Sam ---
**Author:** ![dnooman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-hits-2-21-a-gallon-wheres-the-liberal-media-dammit/297828/36 "2005-04-05T15:43:57Z")
I think it’s time for another one of those “gas out” days where nobody buys gas in order to piss off the oil companies. Yeah, that’ll show 'em! For now, my most cherished website is the one that shows me the lowest consumer-reported pump prices in town. Saves me 0.30/gal sometimes. ---
**Author:** ![Darkhold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@Darkhold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darkhold)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-hits-2-21-a-gallon-wheres-the-liberal-media-dammit/297828/37 "2005-04-05T15:46:49Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > NO BLOOD FOR OIL! > > NO BLOOD FOR OIL! > > Regards, > Shodan Seems like we tried the blood for oil thing. Now we have plenty of blood but not as much oil then before. So…what’s going on? ---
**Author:** ![askeptic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb9ed0/32.png) [@askeptic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/askeptic)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-hits-2-21-a-gallon-wheres-the-liberal-media-dammit/297828/38 "2005-04-05T15:47:16Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > $2.21 a gallon? You septics don’t know you’re born. We’re doing well to get it for much under £0.83 a _litre_ this side of the pond. But at least the folks on your side of the pond have a reasonable facsimile of a public transportation system. Here on the west coast of the U.S. our options are walk or drive. ---
**Author:** ![UncleBeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/977dab/32.png) [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-hits-2-21-a-gallon-wheres-the-liberal-media-dammit/297828/39 "2005-04-05T16:13:25Z")
> [@](#): > > Over what period of time? Right now, a euro costs ~$1.284, which is right about where it traded five months ago. But US gasoline prices have gone up appreciably during that time, as has the dollar-denominated price of a barrel of crude. Hmm, good point, RTF. Here’s an [article from 12/11/04](http://www.energybulletin.net/3574.html') which makes a claim similar to mine. They, however, have added a kind of regulating valve between the relationship of oil prices and the deflated dollar - the trade deficit. Might be interesting to plot the numbers of all three of these things on a timeline for the last couple years and see if we can find a relationship. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-hits-2-21-a-gallon-wheres-the-liberal-media-dammit/297828/40 "2005-04-05T16:15:19Z")
THe news media have been too busy slavering over the menace of SUVs to have much time left for Bush. > [@Arwin](#): > > Go Prius, with your 1 liter = 23 km hybrid tech… Interesting piece in the N.Y. Times the other day, with writer Oliver Sacks preening himself on owning a hybrid vehicle and saving on gas usage. However he reports driving 20-30,000 miles a year. Drive 10K miles a year in an SUV and you’re a villain. Do 3X that mileage in a hybrid car and you’re an environmentalist. Go figure. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-hits-2-21-a-gallon-wheres-the-liberal-media-dammit/297828.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-hits-2-21-a-gallon-wheres-the-liberal-media-dammit/297828.md?page=3)