20 Minutes of "Google Research" on Gas Prices

The nationwide average tax on gasoline is 45.8 cents per gallon.

From: GASOLINE TAXES MARCH 2007

More "money" quotes:

"Regionally, motorists in Western states pay the most in gasoline taxes, an average of 53.9 cents per gallon."

Washington State: 52.4 cents/gallon
Oregon State: 43.3 cents/gallon

“Prices on the West Coast are typically higher than the national average because of taxes and higher refining costs associated with regional environmental requirements.”

Conoco Phillips on regional price differences

“Some of the major factors that drive crude oil prices include:

Geopolitical Uncertainties
Approach of Driving Season
Refinery and Pipeline Issues
Growing Demand
Lack of Spare Production Capacity
Lower Alaskan Oil Production
Fuel Specifications”

Read the whole thing- they include links to other resources.

If you have voted for, or even applauded, conservation efforts that block or resist drilling in Alaska, if you don’t want refineries on your skyline, then you don’t deserve to complain about gasoline or other energy prices. If you plan to take a vacation anywhere this summer that requires driving or flying, if you're even driving to the lake or the park for the day, you're adding to the seasonal price swing.

Your choices and your priorities are your own, and I’m not criticizing them. But you cannot claim the moral high ground and then complain about the cost.

Gas Price Watch

Minnesota legislature:

“Inclusion of all these taxes is necessary to show the entire picture of the tax burden placed on users of motor fuel…. The true tax burden on motor fuel can be accurately shown only by including all these taxes and fees.”

CRS Report for Congress: “Boutique Fuels” and Reformulated Gasoline:

“The current system of gasoline standards in the United States is complex.
Because of federal and state programs to improve air quality, and local refining and marketing decisions, suppliers of gasoline face many different standards for fuel quality. As a result, fuels are formulated to meet varying standards. State and local decisions overlap with federal requirements, leading to situations where adjacent or nearby areas may have significantly different standards. These various fuel formulations are often referred to as “boutique fuels.” In this system, supply disruptions can result if fuel from one area cannot be used to supply another area.”

In other words, fuel shortages in a given region can result even when fuel is available, because it doesn’t meet local standards. When demand exceeds supply, prices rise.

” the industry moved quickly to eliminate MTBE from the gasoline supply in spring 2006. This increased pressure on already tight refining capacity. The loss in volume and energy* from eliminating MTBE increased demand for gasoline, as well as ethanol. Exacerbating the supply problem was the fact that the industry was making the transition from winter gasoline to more stringent summertime air quality specifications, which adds competition for the highest-quality gasoline components. These pressures, along with historically high crude oil prices, led to historically high gasoline prices. Further, some localized areas faced short-term supply disruptions as refineries made the transition.”

*Note: adding ethanol to gasoline ALSO reduces energy content of the fuel, what you might think of as “octane”; and therefore reduces “gas mileage”. Which means you buy more for the same distance, which means you pay more, increase demand (which increases supply, etc. in a bit of a spiral.)

Anyway, anyone who is interested in solutions should probably read up on this stuff. Thos who just want to whine probably will not. The information is not that hard to find.