The war in Iran has caused a spike in gas prices that is hitting California consumers especially hard, according to data from the American Automobile Association (AAA).
AAA reports that in California, the most expensive US market for gas, the average price per gallon on Monday was $5.20, compared with $3.47 nationally. The national average climbed nearly $0.50 since the conflict began more than a week ago, while in the Golden state it rose by $0.55.
Since the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran on 28 February, leading to intensifying violence across the Middle East, the price of oil surged to more than $100 a barrel for the first time in nearly four years. The conflict has damaged oil and gas facilities and stranded ships carrying roughly 20m barrels of oil a day in the Gulf.
About 20% of the world’s oil is shipped through the strait of Hormuz every day but the channel has essentially been closed for the last week.
75 Comments
ThePantser@sh.itjust.works · 66 pts · 163d
notwhoyouthink@lemmy.zip · 3 pts · 162d
BUT I THIUGHT BUDEN DID THAT?!?!’mj
kittykillinit@lemy.lol · 41 pts · 163d
Profit margins must be maintained.
WanderWisley@lemmy.world · 30 pts · 163d
hperrin@lemmy.ca · 29 pts · 163d
Pretty glad I drive an electric car right now.
BassTurd@lemmy.world · 22 pts · 163d
Only half joking, but all of the new data centers raising energy prices are unfortunately coming for you too. Still way cheaper than the gas equivalent though.
ooterness@lemmy.world · 36 pts · 163d
Jokes on you, I've got an electric car and solar panels. Fuck the grid!
BassTurd@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 163d
Hot damn I wish I could do that. We recently had our first semi serious look into solar for our place. Maybe someday.
boonhet@sopuli.xyz · 3 pts · 162d
Man I wish I could do that, but I'd be fucked come winter.
I currently have a fixed price deal. The price is not ideal, but it's bearable year-round and I don't use that much electricity in the summer when the market rate is cheaper.
If I had solar panels and wanted it to be connected to the grid (so I wouldn't have to run them on a separate circuit and could also sell back the excess), I'd be forced to the market rate package. Which in the winter can get ridiculously expensive. And it's not like there's a lot of sunshine here in the winter. 6 hours from sunrise to sunset and it's cloudy most days - and if it's not cloudy, it gets super cold and electricity demand goes up even more.
partial_accumen@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 162d
Our household has solar panels, two EVs, and a heat pump located in the Midwest. We still have 1:1 net metering so its nearly the ideal conditions as far as energy harvest and economic landscape. I know this won't last, but I'm enjoying for the years that I can.
We also have a separate deductive meter where we can get about 25% discount on electricity that charges the cars. We only use it during the cold months because car electricity is free during the rest of the year from solar.
We have a small electricity bill in November, then big beefy electricity bills and for when the our location on Earth its tilted away the sun for the very cold months of Dec Jan, and Feb. March we get a bill but its about 1/10 of the cold months, and then usually electric bill until November again.
With the installation of our heat pump we cut off our natural gas connection. So the only energy bill we have is electricity during the cold months. No natural gas bill, no gasoline bill.
hperrin@lemmy.ca · 3 pts · 163d
If it gets expensive, I can always get solar. Once you pay for the initial investment of the equipment, it’s basically free energy for decades.
BassTurd@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 163d
I want to say our estimated break even was about a decade at our current consumption. I definitely need to get more quotes and see what the market has to offer. It's 100% a bucket list item for me. My other hesitation is that I don't want to live in my state for another 10 years. I think that I'm probably stuck here, but I feel once I pull that trigger, I've sealed my fate. My family and my wife's are relatively near by, and while I'd move tomorrow if I could and budget for flights back, my wife does not feel the same.
partial_accumen@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 162d
That calculation also likely assumes electricity prices stay the same for a decade. If electricity prices increase, your payback date arrives sooner.
BassTurd@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 162d
True. Something I hadn't taken into consideration. We've got a couple data centers coming up over the next couple years on my power grid. They're for sure going to increase costs.
partial_accumen@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 162d
DCs are like roaches these days. If you see two going in, there are probably ten more than you don't know about also going in.
CmdrShepard49@sh.itjust.works · 9 pts · 163d
You're still affected by this as nearly everything you buy was transported on a truck.
French75@slrpnk.net · 6 pts · 163d
Also, Californians pay 3x the national average for electricity too.
HaraldvonBlauzahn@feddit.org · 4 pts · 163d
The thing is EV owners have more money left for food.
Or, in my case, cyclists - a am mid-fifty now, and never hada car. When I feel the need to smile, I sum up the money I have saved this way.
CADmonkey@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 162d
What does the truck that delivers your food run on?
hperrin@lemmy.ca · 4 pts · 162d
No idea, but I feel it a lot more when commuting goes up 50% than when food goes up 20%.
Also, if I can have just one of those, instead of both, why wouldn’t I want that??
jve@lemmy.world · 15 pts · 163d
hopesdead@startrek.website · 15 pts · 163d
Something you may have glossed over if you don’t live in California: March is when the state begins to the switch to “Summer-blend” (a mix of spealized petroleum with 10.5% to 15% ethanol) which is required to be available by April 1 and until October 31. The price of gas was going to increase regardless.
mastertigurius@lemmy.world · 15 pts · 163d
Ha. Try 2.40/litre ($11/gallon) in Norway.
Ghostalmedia@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 163d
True, but density, public transportation, social services, and electrification are very different in much of the US. Fuel prices hit differently depending on where you live in the world.
favoredponcho@lemmy.zip · 12 pts · 163d
CADmonkey@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 162d
My hope is that the price of fuel goes so crazy that people can't afford to drive to work, causing a general strike.
captainlezbian@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 162d
Yeah probably
PixTupy@lemmy.ml · 4 pts · 163d
True, our fuel prices are way higher here in Europe, but we have a solid public transportation network, we have walkable cities and in countries like Norway the EVs are the majority.
From everything I've seen about US cities and American friends I talk to, for most people, if you don't have a car you can't get to work. That is a thought that is hard to process for Europeans.
CADmonkey@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 162d
This is it. This is the difference. Along with everything being spread out, and fuel efficient cars being a distinct minority. "Just ride a bike" is something I'd love to do, but I'd get killed by some monster-fueled purposefully stupid prick in a truck. And that person might get a ticket. The very idea of taking a bus or train to work is pure fantasy where I live.
SkyeStarfall@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 2 pts · 162d
Norway isn't dense. It has less population density than the US does
Ghostalmedia@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 162d
True.
I’m primarily talking about specific regions of the US, not the whole place. Many places in the US are famous for sprawl.
Take a city like Huston, Texas. Triple the population of Oslo, but everyone is insanely spread out, and even city centers don’t feel particularly walkable.
mastertigurius@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 162d
Fuel prices hit hard of you're a Norwegian living outside of the cities (which is the majority of Norwegians). You really need to have a car in the countryside, as both buses and trains are few and far between. There's still plenty of fossil-fueled vehicles out here. People keep them because they either can't afford to make the jump over to electric, don't trust the EV's to handle winter well enough, or because they're worried about the technological hurdle (Norway is an aging population).
Ghostalmedia@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 162d
True. Almost all new vehicles are EVs, but 70% of the existing vehicles on the road are ICE. Super impressive, but that tank of fuel is extra painful if you’re in the countryside.
SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca · 2 pts · 162d
US gallon is 3.78L. $9/gallon.
mastertigurius@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 162d
Ah, you're right. My goodness, couldn't the Americans even agree with the rest of the world on make-believe silly-units?
"While we can agree that a gallon should be the nice, round sum of 32 gills, I find it ludicrous that you define it as five fluid ounces. I'm putting my foot down. In the United States, it will be the much more manageable four ounces, which will be a different size to your ounces. Nyyyaanyyaanyanyanyaaa!"
CADmonkey@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 162d
You haven't had decades of anti-public-transit propaganda in Norway, I bet.
mastertigurius@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 162d
Don't need the propaganda, we just need a completely Oslo-centric government that will happily spend money on public transit, as long as it's in Oslo. Pretty much all the governments have been like that for most of my life.
corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca · 13 pts · 163d
Us$5 a gallon? That's almost Canadian prices. Just a little higher and that's our day-to-day.
HootinNHollerin@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 4 pts · 163d
California taxes gasoline a lot compared to other states. It’s usually 2$ more than Texas
sin_free_for_00_days@sopuli.xyz · 7 pts · 163d
Sure, but it only taxes a gallon $0.50 more than Texas.
SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca · 1 pts · 162d
US gallon is 3.8 litres. Before Iran, we were paying $CDN 4.70, or $US3.10.
Now it's $CDN5.70, or $US3.76.
US$5 would be CDN$1.75 a liter.
So no. Why are Canadians so stupid about gas prices?
xc2215x@lemmy.world · 13 pts · 163d
That is a brutal price to see. Wow.
Bbbbbbbbbbb@lemmy.world · 20 pts · 163d
Give it a couple days, its $5....so far....
Formfiller@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 163d
Over $6 here
Formfiller@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 163d
Bay Area
P1k1e@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 162d
I'm guessing your in the City
comador@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 163d
San Diego?
duncan_bayne@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 163d
Allowing for currency conversion it's USD8.23 / gallon here in Victoria, Australia.
boonhet@sopuli.xyz · 1 pts · 162d
Diesel's just about the same here in Estonia and it's far from the most expensive in Europe when it comes to fuel. I believe that the Dutch enjoyed this price level when oil prices were fine - I don't want to know what they have now.
PsycyTuna@feddit.nl · 0 pts · 162d
Diesel is €2,50ish per liter now
PaupersSerenade@sh.itjust.works · 5 pts · 163d
I passed a station that was over $5.50 on my way to a $5/gallon pump (it was just a block away, thank goodness for 7/11). I imagine that average is going to go WAY up.
We destroy our land and will never reap the 'benefits'.
Raiderkev@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 163d
Just paid $4.89, and that's at the cheapest gas station I know of for 20 miles. It's 5.50 ish around me for the most part.
BigDiction@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 162d
Dang the summer blend fuel is gonna be north of $6 gallon then.
SnarkoPolo@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 162d
The Media: "Dear Leader gets tough with Iran! Victory is coming. But first the latest Taylor Swift news, and MARCH MADNESS!"
Mrkawfee@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 162d
This is just the beginning. We are all paying Netanyahu's war tax.
mrdown@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 162d
Nobody forced the whole west to support israel
favoredponcho@lemmy.zip · 2 pts · 163d
SatansMaggotyCumFart@piefed.world · 11 pts · 163d
So all the groceries and everything else that is transported around gets to get more expensive for everyone too?
Why do you hate poor people?
pageflight@piefed.social · 10 pts · 163d
We can stop subsidizing fossil fuels and make EV purchasing affordable. We could even make public transit usable, if we spent $43M/hr on it.
SatansMaggotyCumFart@piefed.world · 15 pts · 163d
Yeah and if my grandma had wheels she'd be the fastest hooker in her retirement home.
W98BSoD@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 5 pts · 163d
I thought she’d be a bike, personally, but what do I know.
boonhet@sopuli.xyz · 1 pts · 162d
Was omnibus when I was growing up which is funny because the term omnibus was already antiquated by then and outside of that one specific saying, nobody ever used that term, so I didn't even really know it's just a regular ol' bus.
Iheartcheese@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 163d
And you honestly believe that might happen during Trump's presidency? Right now we're worried about the rising prices in the here and now. Not what legislation we can pass maybe during the next presidency.
prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 4 pts · 162d
Not when the government is openly and actively hostile toward all of those things
favoredponcho@lemmy.zip · 1 pts · 163d
BassTurd@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 163d
My sibling with two special needs children needs a larger vehicle to transport and live. They are as liberal as it gets and definitely didn't vote for Trump. Lots of big vehicle owners are tools and don't need them, but your generalizations also directly imply that those that truly need larger vehicles must also "take it in the teeth".
Also, it's not just poorer people that suffer from the rising prices of goods. I'm in a relatively stable and good financial situation and our household is feeling it as well, we're just lucky enough that it's not crippling us. Keep in mind that there are lots of poor people that also didn't vote for Trump that you callously group with those that did.
frongt@lemmy.zip · 4 pts · 163d
They're talking about people who don't need them. Like the big spotless pavement princess pickups.
BassTurd@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 163d
That's not what they said. Same with poor* people. Like I mentioned their generalizations group everyone. If someone wants to make inflammatory statements, they should do so with specificity, otherwise they look hateful.
favoredponcho@lemmy.zip · 3 pts · 163d
BassTurd@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 163d
Try to shove electric wheelchairs, 3 kids, 2 of which are special needs, and two adults into a small vehicle. Nobody anywhere is pulling that off. Get off your high horse.
Mrkawfee@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 162d
Since Trumpenyahu's mad war I've been finding out that fertilisers, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, construction all rely on products derived from oil. So as much as its good to see fuel for cars going up. The price of absolutely everything is about to shoot up.
ArbitraryValue@sh.itjust.works · -13 pts · 163d
So the preexisting difference in price between CA and the rest of the USA was bigger than three wars with Iran... CA voters are a mystery to me.
Dudewitbow@lemmy.zip · 6 pts · 163d
its also the state whose most aggressive with pushing EVs, which is also unaffected by these prices.
kboos1@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 163d
You mean directly effected. 1.4% of vehicles in the US are EVs, so if 98.6% are powered by fossil fuels then everything that has to be transported will become more expensive.
A tank of gasoline is the least of my concerns with spending money. It was less than $500 last paycheck for 2 weeks of food, which is much higher than it was last year. It was over $800 this paycheck.
Fuck Dump
kittykillinit@lemy.lol · 3 pts · 163d
Everything is expensive in California yet most people own no property and live in squalor because all of that money is just going to their overlords.
Semi_Hemi_Demigod@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 163d
The weather must be fucking AMAZING
evenglow@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 163d
There are fewer homeless people in BFE Alabama because there is no city. Same thing on tropical islands.
Semi_Hemi_Demigod@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 163d
Alabama is humid as hell and tropical islands are notoriously hard to get to
taiyang@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 163d
Gas taxes pay for transportation infrastructure and environmental efforts, similar to some European countries. That at least goes to something, unlike gas prices going up due to pointless wars.