WEBVTT - What's the Most Americans Have Paid for Gasoline?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of iHeart Radio, Hey

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<v Speaker 1>brain Stuff Lauren vogebam here. Today's gas prices are uncomfortably

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<v Speaker 1>high for most Americans. The national average cost for a

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<v Speaker 1>regular gallon of gas was four dollars and nineteen cents

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<v Speaker 1>as of April four two. According to Triple A. A

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<v Speaker 1>month earlier, that same gallon would have been under four dollars.

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<v Speaker 1>A year earlier, it would have been under three dollars.

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<v Speaker 1>The one bit of good news, such high prices don't

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<v Speaker 1>last forever. Gas prices regularly fluctuate. The nation's all time

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<v Speaker 1>high price technically came on March eleven, two, when gas

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<v Speaker 1>hit a national average of four dollars and thirty three

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<v Speaker 1>cents per gallon. That price is dwarfed by the prices

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<v Speaker 1>seen at the pump. In July of two eight, they

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<v Speaker 1>hit four dollars and eleven cents, which equals five dollars

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<v Speaker 1>thirty cents in today's money. But this was just before

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<v Speaker 1>the onset of the global financial crisis sent gas prices plunging.

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<v Speaker 1>But as recently, gas was just a dollar six per gallon,

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<v Speaker 1>which equates to a dollar eighty six when adjusted for inflation.

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<v Speaker 1>The lowest price since, though during the nineteen seventies, when

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<v Speaker 1>there were a number of gas shortages, the highest average

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<v Speaker 1>price for gas was eighty six cents a gallon or

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<v Speaker 1>three dollars fifty three cents one adjusted for inflation. There

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<v Speaker 1>are a lot of factors that contribute to the price

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<v Speaker 1>of gas. For the article, this episode is based on

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<v Speaker 1>How Stuff Works. That spoke with Andrew Gross, a Triple

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<v Speaker 1>A National spokesperson. He said, the cost of oil accounts

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<v Speaker 1>for of what you pay at the pump. Another fourteen

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<v Speaker 1>percent comes from refining costs, sixteen percent is marketing and distribution,

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<v Speaker 1>and the last fifteen percent is taxes. The price of

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<v Speaker 1>crude oil, the main driver in gas costs depends upon

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<v Speaker 1>many factors, but the main one is simple supply and demand.

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<v Speaker 1>When there's a lot of oil out there, prices drop.

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<v Speaker 1>When there's not enough oil to meet demand, prices rise.

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<v Speaker 1>The world's oil supply is controlled by oil producing nations,

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<v Speaker 1>including the US, but also by OPAC, a cartel of

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<v Speaker 1>thirteen oil producing nations clustered in Africa, the Middle East,

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<v Speaker 1>and South America. The recent surge in gas prices is

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<v Speaker 1>partly due to Russia's late February invasion of Ukraine, which

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<v Speaker 1>has spooked the global oil market, But prices were already

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<v Speaker 1>climbing before the invasion due to the COVID nineteen pandemic.

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<v Speaker 1>Back in when COVID first emerged, the pandemic caused an

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<v Speaker 1>enormous drop in demand as people stopped traveling. This left

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<v Speaker 1>oil producers with a large surplus, so they cut back production.

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<v Speaker 1>More recently, with COVID vaccinations and boosters readily available in

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<v Speaker 1>the US and many other countries, demand for gases rising

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<v Speaker 1>as home bound citizens are eager to resume travel. Yet

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<v Speaker 1>oil producers are leery about quickly ratcheting up production to

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<v Speaker 1>meet this demand. The pandemic is still here for one thing, Plus,

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<v Speaker 1>there are major uncertainties about the situation in Ukraine. Producers

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<v Speaker 1>do not want to get stuck with another surplus on hand.

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<v Speaker 1>While the cost of gas is rising across the United States,

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<v Speaker 1>comparing prices between the states is jarring. California's prices are

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<v Speaker 1>the highest in the nation, averaging five dollars and five

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<v Speaker 1>cents per gallons statewide as of March twenty one. That

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<v Speaker 1>same day, Kansas posted the lowest statewide average, three dollars

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<v Speaker 1>and seventy seven cents A part of these price differentials

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<v Speaker 1>come from state gas taxes, which in two ranged from

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<v Speaker 1>eight cents per gallon in Alaska to fifty one point

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<v Speaker 1>one cents in California, where environmental requirements for its fuel

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<v Speaker 1>blends helped drive up the cost. A state's location within

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<v Speaker 1>the US also plays a huge role in determining fuel costs.

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<v Speaker 1>States that are closer to refineries and pipelines, which are

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<v Speaker 1>clustered in the South, have were gas transportation costs and

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<v Speaker 1>thus pay less than those states that are farther away.

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<v Speaker 1>The Western States are hit especially hard as they're far

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<v Speaker 1>away from refineries and their oil needs to flow through

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<v Speaker 1>pipelines crossing the Rocky Mountains, an expensive undertaking, but consider

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<v Speaker 1>the rest of the world. European countries such as Germany

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<v Speaker 1>and the Netherlands were charging nine dollars twelve cents and

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<v Speaker 1>nine dollars twenty cents per gallon of gas on March fourteenth, two,

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<v Speaker 1>and in Hong Kong, the world's most expensive place to

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<v Speaker 1>get gas, the price was whopping ten dollars ninety eight

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<v Speaker 1>cents per gallon. The citizens in some of the world's

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<v Speaker 1>oil rich countries luck out, though Iran, Libya and Venezuela

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<v Speaker 1>were charging their citizens of pittance for gas between ten

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<v Speaker 1>and nineteen cents per gallon as of March fourteenth two.

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<v Speaker 1>The reasons for the world wild gas price differentials are

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<v Speaker 1>similar to those facing the US. Prices differ depending on

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<v Speaker 1>how far the oil is traveling and the strength of

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<v Speaker 1>countries trade structures. For example, plus, many industrialized nations tax

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<v Speaker 1>their gas at a much higher rate than the US. Here,

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<v Speaker 1>the federal gas tax has been zero point one eight

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<v Speaker 1>four cents per gallon since European Union countries, in contrast,

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<v Speaker 1>must levy a minimum gas tax of thirty six euros

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<v Speaker 1>per leader that equals about a dollar fifty five per gallon,

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<v Speaker 1>and similar to how American states add their own taxes,

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<v Speaker 1>so do many countries in the European Union. The highest

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<v Speaker 1>gas tax in the EU is in the Netherlands, at

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<v Speaker 1>point eight one euros per leader, or three dollars in

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<v Speaker 1>fifty one cents per gallon. However, right now, no one

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<v Speaker 1>knows how long this upward trend will last. Gross said,

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<v Speaker 1>we haven't had a major European land war in seventy

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<v Speaker 1>five years, much less in the middle of a pandemic

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<v Speaker 1>O Peck and others are still producing oil at less

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<v Speaker 1>than pre pandemic levels. There are a lot of questions

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<v Speaker 1>out there. Most experts warn that gas prices will likely

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<v Speaker 1>continue to rise as we are nearing the summer season,

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<v Speaker 1>which is when gas is reformulated to ward against the

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<v Speaker 1>excess of operation that can occur when temperatures warm, a

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<v Speaker 1>pricey process. Yet, they say that sky high prices won't

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<v Speaker 1>last forever because if they climb to excessively, the economy

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<v Speaker 1>will falter and demand will plunge along with the price.

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<v Speaker 1>In the meanwhile, the best way to save gas is

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<v Speaker 1>to limit your usage, but because walking or biking to

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<v Speaker 1>work or the store isn't always possible, here are a

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<v Speaker 1>few things that everyone can do to use less fuel. First,

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<v Speaker 1>obey speed limits above fifty miles an hour or so.

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<v Speaker 1>Driving faster uses more gas. Going seventy five an hour

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<v Speaker 1>on the highway instead of sixty five miles an hour

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<v Speaker 1>can cost you six to seven more miles per gallon.

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<v Speaker 1>According to consumer reports, that means losing a hundred miles

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<v Speaker 1>of driving for every fifteen gallon tank. Okay, Also, drive smoothly.

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<v Speaker 1>Putting the pedal to the metal eats up gas, as

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<v Speaker 1>do hardbreaking and sharp turns. Next, keep your tires inflated.

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<v Speaker 1>The tires lose pressure over time, and when they're below

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<v Speaker 1>recommended levels, you can lose about fift of your car's

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<v Speaker 1>fuel efficiency. Also, if you can ditch any exterior hardware

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<v Speaker 1>and empty out your trunk to remove excess weight. Also,

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<v Speaker 1>don't idle. It takes less gas to restart your car

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<v Speaker 1>than to have an idle for more than a minute

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<v Speaker 1>or two. And finally, combine trips. Awaiting not only cuts

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<v Speaker 1>down on the number of miles driven, but reduces fuel

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<v Speaker 1>consumption as warm engines are more efficient than cold ones.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's episode is based on the article what's the most

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<v Speaker 1>Americans have ever paid for gas? On HowStuffWorks dot com

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<v Speaker 1>written by Melanie Redzeekie McManus. Brain Stuff is production of

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<v Speaker 1>by Heart Radio in partnership with how Stuff workst Com,

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<v Speaker 1>and it's produced by Tyler Clang. Before more podcasts from

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<v Speaker 1>my heart Radio, visit the i Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

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<v Speaker 1>or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.