>It's already fairly common in So Cal to have to pay over $3.00 a gallon for
>premium,
>
Nonsense! Hours ago, I paid $2.57 for regular, which the overwhelming
major of cars should use, at a Shell in Orange County. At the same
time, premium was $2.89. Down on Coronado Island, across the bay from
San Diego, my daughter paid $2.89 for premium yesterday.
>and at a station near the San Diego airport, regular unleaded was over $3.00
>last week.
>
Now, that is not surprising, for gas is always more expensive close to
the airport car rental returns.
>I can see $5.00 a gallon in So Cal in the not so far distant future.
>
But that is still dirt cheap compared to the money people are willing to
pay for their Evian or Starbucks, and especially when compared to the
rest of the world. In any event, it is still cheaper than
inflation-adjusted prices of the energy crises of the past.
>As the gridlock on freeways around So Cal gets worse
>
Then express your views to the dunderheaded State legislature (3 to 1
Democratic) and demand that they not spend gasoline taxes on their own
pet pork barrel projects, but on transportation for which they were
collected. The Traffic Congestion Relief Program (TCRP) was enacted in
2001. Instead, your legislature transferred the $8.2 billion to
non-transportation uses.
Try demanding that obstructionist bureaucrats and over-the-top
environmentalists not prevent the construction of refineries. There has
not been a new refinery built in the U.S. in 20 years, and California
for 40 years. In California, environmental laws have continually forced
the closing of refineries to the point that althought those that remain
are more efficient, overall capacity has dropped 11% in 20 years. No
matter how much oil we have, it does absolutely no good if it can't be
refined into gasoline!
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