Gas War: Biden Administration Releasing One Million Barrels of Gasoline from Northeast Reserves

On Tuesday, the Biden administration announced plans to release one million barrels of gasoline from Northeastern reserves in an effort to stabilize rising fuel costs. The stated intent is to lower fuel costs for Americans as demand spikes over the next several months.

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Fuelin’ Around: Chevron Buys Hess

While coverage of high finance isn’t generally a top priority of this site – we know most of you lot would rather read about Murilee’s latest Junkyard Find and, to be honest, so would I – any deal involving a pair of major fuel station brands is worth more than a passing mention.

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Report: California Gasoline No Longer the Most Expensive

Washington has officially managed to surpass California as the state with the highest fuel prices and looks as though it’s on track to compete for that dubious honor indefinitely. 

Based upon data tabulated by the American Automobile Association (AAA), unleaded gasoline purchases in Washington jumped by 32 cents over the past month to $4.93 a gallon. The national average is presently $3.58 per gallon.

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Study: Electric Cars Cost More to "Fill up" Than Gas

A Michigan-based think tank has claimed that it now costs less to drive an internal combustion vehicle 100 miles than to charge up a comparably all-electric vehicle using home charging. Though this claim comes with a few caveats, starting with acknowledging that this only applies to “midpriced” vehicles based on the national average for fuel and electricity rates.

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Report: Fuel Price Forecast Looking Mixed at Best

While market analysts are projecting that fuel costs will be slightly lower in 2023 than they were last year, GasBuddy has released a report suggesting that the national average for a gallon of regular unleaded could still be as much as $4.00 by May.

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California Seeking to Fine Companies Over Gasoline Price Gouging

Despite the perpetual ebb and flow of fuel prices across the United States, you can reliably count on California having some of the highest per-gallon costs in the nation. While that’s not entirely the fault of energy companies – California’s high tax rate on just about everything is a major factor here – oil firms are indeed raking in unprecedented profits right now and the government would much rather you focus on that than any role it might have likewise played. To that effect, Governor Gavin Newsom has announced new financial penalties for corporations accused of price-gouging wherever fueling is concerned.

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Fuel Prices Are Allegedly Cooling Off

With the last several months delivering record-breaking fuel prices, as society endures what has undoubtedly been the largest spike in energy cost and inflation since the 1970s, everyone has been hoping to catch a break this summer. Some have even gotten theirs. While things are still looking exceptionally bleak in the long term, the United States appears to be enjoying a modest reprieve.

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White House May Propose Gas Tax Holiday [Updated]

National fuel prices are currently averaging right around $5.00 per gallon in the United States. However, there are plenty of states with stations listing gasoline well above $6.00 per gallon with diesel being driven even higher. This has started to wreak havoc on the trucking industry, which is now seeing companies pausing shipments to renegotiate contracts, and infuriated consumers who remember a gallon of gas being $2.17 during the summer of 2020.

Earlier this year, Congress and the White House suggested suspending the federal fuel tax to alleviate the financial burden. But the notion was walked back, as prices were relatively low at the time (roughly $3.50 per gallon) and criticisms swelled that this simply exchanged one problem for another. Four months later and things are looking rather desperate, with the Biden administration revisiting the premise of pausing fuel tax to help soften the blow of record-breaking prices at the pump.

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Gas War: Republican States Sue EPA Over Californian Standards

Last week, a group of Republican attorneys general decided to sue the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over its decision to reinstate the waiver allowing California to set its own limitations on exhaust gasses and zero-emission vehicle mandates that would exceed federal standards.

The agency approved the waiver after it had been eliminated as part of the Trump administration’s fuel rollback on the grounds that it would create a schism within the industry by forcing automakers to produce vehicles that catered to the Californian market at the expense of products that might be appreciated in other parts of the country. However, Joe Biden’s EPA sees things differently and has aligned itself with the California Air Resources Board (CARB) in giving the state more leeway to govern itself in regard to emissions policing.

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Gas War: EPA Reinstates California's Ability to Set Emission Limits, EV Mandates

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has opted to reinstate California’s ability to set tailpipe rules and zero-emission vehicle mandates that are more rigid than federal standards. After quarreling for years over the Trump administration’s decision to roll back Obama-era fueling standards deemed untenable, the Golden State now has the ability to once again make harder for its citizens by forcing them to purchase the kind of vehicles it feels they should be driving — rather than leaving it up to the individual that’s actually buying the car.

Though it might not matter at this point. While California effectively served as a defensive shield against proposed fueling rollbacks while Trump was in office, the Biden administration strategy is broadly in line with its agenda of making gasoline unappetizing to consumers to ensure a speedy transition to electric vehicles. California doesn’t even want people to have access to gas-powered lawn care equipment. The state has effectively served as a test case for Build Back Better since before the phrase passed through the lips of a single politician.

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Alright, Let's Talk About Fuel Prices and How We Got Here

Fuel prices have, like most other things, become totally ridiculous. In the United States, the average rate for a gallon of gasoline has eclipsed $4.00 for the first time in a decade. Though what’s probably the most alarming is how quickly it happened. Plenty of Americans could still find fuel for under $2.00 a gallon in April of 2020, meaning we’ve seen prices effectively double within two years in the United States. Meanwhile, European nations more accustomed to lofty fuel bills have been sounding the warning bells (especially in regard to diesel) for months.

Despite the issue existing long before Russia invaded Ukraine, the war has become the de facto explanation among politicians for why you had to swap to less-fancy dog food and off-brand soda to keep the truck gassed up. This is also influencing the government’s response to how to handle the present fuel crisis, which looks as if it’ll be getting worse before it gets better. But let’s take a look at how we got here before we dive into what’s being done (or not done) about it.

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Suspending Federal Fuel Tax Pitched By Senate, White House

President Joe Biden and Democratic lawmakers have suggested ending the federal gas tax until 2023 as a way to offset fuel prices that are nearing record levels and possibly appease some on-the-fence voters ahead of midterm elections. Senators Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) recently pitched the bill in Congress. While the White House has not made any official endorsements, it’s offered tacit support by saying it didn’t want to limit itself in terms of finding new ways of easing the financial burdens Americans are facing during a period of high inflation.

“Every tool is on the table to reduce prices,” White House assistant press secretary Emilie Simons said in regard to a possible gas tax holiday. “The president already announced an historic release of 50 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, and all options are on the table looking ahead.”

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Rising Fuel Prices Have Upended the Economy

Unless you’ve spent the last twelve months locked inside your home, then you’re probably dreading the next trip to the gas station. The average price for a gallon of 87 octanes has reached $3.40 in the United States. That’s about 50 percent steeper than it was at the start of 2021 and undoubtedly more than you’re wanting to shell out today. Though one cannot ignore the dizzying rates being advertised outside of British “petroleum parlors” or France’s many “un bordel pour voitures.” Canadians are also forced to endure higher gasoline prices, as the government tends to stack the taxes a little higher and the U.S. dollar tends to be more valuable. At least for now.

All you need to know for the purposes of this article is that fuel prices are up and it’s influencing the economy in some pretty dramatic ways.

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Passing Gas: Some Automakers and Countries Commit to Ending Fossil Fuel Vehicles by 2024

You’ll notice an intentional and obvious use of the word ‘some’ in that headline. At the COP26 global climate summit currently being held in Glasgow, a handful of automakers and two dozen countries committed to an agreement calling for the end of fossil fuel vehicles by 2040 or earlier.

Headline signatories include the likes of Ford, GM Volvo, and Mercedes – along with reps from places such as Canada, the U.K., and Sweden. Not everyone chose to jump on board, however, including a couple of major world powers and two of the planet’s largest car companies.

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Gas War: California May Ban Gas-Powered Lawn Equipment

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has decided that residential lawn equipment is a major problem. Claims have been made that the small engines found inside of the average leaf blower emit the same amount of smog-forming pollution in a single hour as a 2016 Toyota Camry could produce over a 1,100-mile drive.

Assertions like these have been used to forward Assembly Bill No. 1346, which requires the board to define and then pull the trigger on new regulations designed “to prohibit engine exhaust and evaporative emissions from new small off-road engines” by 2022. CARB then has to decide whether or not it can outright ban them, so they may be replaced by zero-emission equivalents after 2024. Considering how decent most electrified tools have grown to be, this doesn’t sound infeasible. But it’s another example of California’s obsessive hatred of consumers utilizing liquid fuel and bound to have major ramifications.

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  • Jan Smith Now investors should be really concerned. Unless he wanted to show a glimpse of the Model 2, he has existing cars to build upon for autonomous technologies. He even admitted all Tesla vehicles are capable of the next gen tech. Don’t spend money if you don’t have to. Now, the Robovan’s design is a page out of “I, Robot” except with seats. I wished Elon would have provided better explanation of its applications (airport and big venue shuttles). How about UberXL or XXL? Maybe a 7-8 seater with storage for suitcases. This would complement the robotaxi and can be rolled out simultaneously. Those robots are straight out of the movie “I, Robot”. I don’t think everyday people can afford those. And for people who can afford them, they can hire humans to do the same jobs. And, those humans go home at night. Can you imagine trying to sleep knowing there is a Robot in the house that Elon can shut on and off?? What if Robots become sentient…….
  • Jan Smith Now investors should be really concerned. Unless he wanted to show a glimpse of the Model 2, he has existing cars to build upon for autonomous technologies. He even admitted all Tesla vehicles are capable of the next gen tech. Don’t spend money if you don’t have to. Now, the Robovan’s design is a page out of “I, Robot” except with seats. I wished Elon would have provided better explanation of its applications (airport and big venue shuttles). How about UberXL or XXL? Maybe a 7-8 seater with storage for suitcases. This would complement the robotaxi and can be rolled out simultaneously. Those robots are straight out of the movie “I, Robot”. I don’t think everyday people can afford those. And for people who can afford them, they can hire humans to do the same jobs. And, those humans go home at night. Can you imagine trying to sleep knowing there is a Robot in the house that Elon can shut on and off?? What if Robots become sentient…….
  • SCE to AUX Of course not. They might field some Level 3 test mule with a human "observer", but there will not be a fleet of Level 5 robotaxis running around unmonitored.
  • Kjhkjlhkjhkljh kljhjkhjklhkjh Nope. After a few accidents states will do the same thing they have done to Cruze ETC and ban them long enough that that losses and bad PR will offset any possible meager gains and they will be ''converted'' to fleet vehicles that no-one wants.
  • Noe65816932 Too bad he is leaving , he did a “bang up job “ . He will be missed .