328
submitted 2 months ago by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/news@lemmy.world

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.

top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[-] ThePantser@sh.itjust.works 63 points 2 months ago
[-] notwhoyouthink@lemmy.zip 3 points 2 months ago

BUT I THIUGHT BUDEN DID THAT?!?!’mj

[-] kittykillinit@lemy.lol 41 points 2 months ago

Profit margins must be maintained.

[-] WanderWisley@lemmy.world 29 points 2 months ago
[-] hperrin@lemmy.ca 28 points 2 months ago

Pretty glad I drive an electric car right now.

[-] BassTurd@lemmy.world 22 points 2 months ago

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 35 points 2 months ago

Jokes on you, I've got an electric car and solar panels. Fuck the grid!

[-] BassTurd@lemmy.world 8 points 2 months ago

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 points 2 months ago

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 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

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 points 2 months ago

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 points 2 months ago

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 points 2 months ago

I want to say our estimated break even was about a decade at our current consumption.

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 points 2 months ago

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.

load more comments (1 replies)
[-] CmdrShepard49@sh.itjust.works 9 points 2 months ago

You're still affected by this as nearly everything you buy was transported on a truck.

[-] HaraldvonBlauzahn@feddit.org 6 points 2 months ago

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.

[-] French75@slrpnk.net 5 points 2 months ago

You’re still affected by this as nearly everything you buy was transported on a truck.

Also, Californians pay 3x the national average for electricity too.

[-] CADmonkey@lemmy.world 2 points 2 months ago

What does the truck that delivers your food run on?

[-] hperrin@lemmy.ca 4 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

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??

[-] hopesdead@startrek.website 15 points 2 months ago

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.

[-] jve@lemmy.world 15 points 2 months ago
[-] mastertigurius@lemmy.world 14 points 2 months ago

Ha. Try 2.40/litre ($11/gallon) in Norway.

[-] Ghostalmedia@lemmy.world 8 points 2 months ago

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 points 2 months ago

Maybe the US needs $11/gallon as medicine.

load more comments (2 replies)
[-] PixTupy@lemmy.ml 4 points 2 months ago

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.

load more comments (1 replies)
[-] SkyeStarfall 2 points 2 months ago

Norway isn't dense. It has less population density than the US does

load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (2 replies)
[-] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 2 points 2 months ago

US gallon is 3.78L. $9/gallon.

load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (2 replies)
[-] Formfiller@lemmy.world 8 points 2 months ago
[-] favoredponcho@lemmy.zip 6 points 2 months ago

I like it when gas prices go up, personally.

[-] SatansMaggotyCumFart@piefed.world 11 points 2 months ago

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 13 points 2 months ago

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 14 points 2 months ago

Yeah and if my grandma had wheels she'd be the fastest hooker in her retirement home.

[-] W98BSoD@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 2 months ago

I thought she’d be a bike, personally, but what do I know.

[-] boonhet@sopuli.xyz 2 points 2 months ago

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 points 2 months ago

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 4 points 2 months ago

Not when the government is openly and actively hostile toward all of those things

[-] favoredponcho@lemmy.zip 5 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Poor people (households making under $50k) overwhelmingly voted for Donald Trump, who started this war, so it’s really a self-own to be honest.

But, the cost of groceries going up isn’t really the part I like. For me, it’s knowing all the douchebags driving trucks that get 10mpg are gonna whine. I like it when truck and SUV drivers take it in the teeth. Maybe they’ll drive less. That’ll be good for the planet.

[-] BassTurd@lemmy.world 6 points 2 months ago

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.

[-] favoredponcho@lemmy.zip 7 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

It’s always funny to me how people say they need a big vehicle.

Somehow parents with special needs kids get by just fine in countries without American-sized trucks and SUVs, which is most countries on the planet.

[-] BassTurd@lemmy.world 7 points 2 months ago

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.

[-] frongt@lemmy.zip 3 points 2 months ago

They're talking about people who don't need them. Like the big spotless pavement princess pickups.

[-] BassTurd@lemmy.world 6 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

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.

[-] Mrkawfee@lemmy.world 2 points 2 months ago

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.

[-] duncan_bayne@lemmy.world 6 points 2 months ago

Allowing for currency conversion it's USD8.23 / gallon here in Victoria, Australia.

load more comments (2 replies)
[-] PaupersSerenade@sh.itjust.works 5 points 2 months ago

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'.

[-] Mrkawfee@lemmy.world 4 points 2 months ago

This is just the beginning. We are all paying Netanyahu's war tax.

load more comments (1 replies)
[-] BigDiction@lemmy.world 4 points 2 months ago

Dang the summer blend fuel is gonna be north of $6 gallon then.

[-] SnarkoPolo@lemmy.world 3 points 2 months ago

The Media: "Dear Leader gets tough with Iran! Victory is coming. But first the latest Taylor Swift news, and MARCH MADNESS!"

load more comments
view more: next ›
this post was submitted on 09 Mar 2026
328 points (100.0% liked)

News

37565 readers
1499 users here now

Welcome to the News community!

Rules:

1. Be civil


Attack the argument, not the person. No racism/sexism/bigotry. Good faith argumentation only. This includes accusing another user of being a bot or paid actor. Trolling is uncivil and is grounds for removal and/or a community ban. Do not respond to rule-breaking content; report it and move on.


2. All posts should contain a source (url) that is as reliable and unbiased as possible and must only contain one link.


Obvious biased sources will be removed at the mods’ discretion. Supporting links can be added in comments or posted separately but not to the post body. Sources may be checked for reliability using Wikipedia, MBFC, AdFontes, GroundNews, etc.


3. No bots, spam or self-promotion.


Only approved bots, which follow the guidelines for bots set by the instance, are allowed.


4. Post titles should be the same as the article used as source. Clickbait titles may be removed.


Posts which titles don’t match the source may be removed. If the site changed their headline, we may ask you to update the post title. Clickbait titles use hyperbolic language and do not accurately describe the article content. When necessary, post titles may be edited, clearly marked with [brackets], but may never be used to editorialize or comment on the content.


5. Only recent news is allowed.


Posts must be news from the most recent 30 days.


6. All posts must be news articles.


No opinion pieces, Listicles, editorials, videos, blogs, press releases, or celebrity gossip will be allowed. All posts will be judged on a case-by-case basis. Mods may use discretion to pre-approve videos or press releases from highly credible sources that provide unique, newsworthy content not available or possible in another format.


7. No duplicate posts.


If an article has already been posted, it will be removed. Different articles reporting on the same subject are permitted. If the post that matches your post is very old, we refer you to rule 5.


8. Misinformation is prohibited.


Misinformation / propaganda is strictly prohibited. Any comment or post containing or linking to misinformation will be removed. If you feel that your post has been removed in error, credible sources must be provided.


9. No link shorteners or news aggregators.


All posts must link to original article sources. You may include archival links in the post description. News aggregators such as Yahoo, Google, Hacker News, etc. should be avoided in favor of the original source link. Newswire services such as AP, Reuters, or AFP, are frequently republished and may be shared from other credible sources.


10. Don't copy entire article in your post body


For copyright reasons, you are not allowed to copy an entire article into your post body. This is an instance wide rule, that is strictly enforced in this community.

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS