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Gas Prices Plummet; May Drop More

The average price for a gallon of unleaded has decreased more than 70 cents in the past month. Have you noticed?

In case you haven't noticed, gasoline prices are dropping dramatically.

The California State Automobile Association reports the average price for a gallon of unleaded gasoline in California is now $3.85. That's 10 cents less than a week ago and 76 cents less than a month ago.

In the East Bay, the average price is also $3.85 a gallon. That's nine cents less than a week ago and 77 cents less than a month ago.

CSAA officials are predicting prices will continue to drop the remainder of the year.

 “Lower crude oil prices, the seasonal switch from summer to winter blend, and reduced demand have added to the recent downward pressure on retail gasoline prices,” says AAA Northern California spokesperson Cynthia Harris. “With continued signs of global economic weakness and a somewhat stronger U.S. dollar, crude oil prices have continued to move lower.”

Some of the lowest prices in the East Bay on gasbuddy.com are in Livermore, where at least five stations are selling gas for $3.59 a gallon. Livermore is also home to one of the more expensive stations in the region. The Chevron at East Vineyard and Isabel Avenue has a listed price of $4.25 a gallon.

Have you noticed the drop in prices? Has it helped with your monthly expenses? Let us know in the comments section.

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Harry Orner November 15, 2012 at 12:44 pm
Tom
I am not angry at all, in fact if anything I feel sorry for David who thinks that profit is more important than the environment or the well being of the masses. David Yes I think that is oil was a non-profit we would not only have oil but it would half the price. Lucky for us most non-profit workers take a lower salary to do something they feel is worthwhile.
David November 15, 2012 at 12:55 pm
Let's tally the responses.
Majority of posters: "Oil companies are gouging us" Me: "Oil companies profit margins range from <1% to about 10%" Majority of posters: "But...you're white [not entirely true]...and skinny...and...and...sick!" "You should look at total profits, and not profit margin" Me: Actually it's the profit margin that matters, the absolute profit amount is just a result of scale. Majority of posters: "Move to Alabama, you...you...math person"
Azuquita November 15, 2012 at 01:19 pm
I'm writing this comment and I would appreciate not having anyone call me names, for my view. 60 minutes did a show called Big Oil and goes in to great details on who sets the prices for Oil and who makes the biggest Profits, and it's not the Oil
companies. The show was shown on CNBC but you can find it on line.
Tom November 15, 2012 at 01:32 pm
David, I think you have summed it up quite well. And we wonder why we struggle with fiscal matters in this state..............
Tom November 15, 2012 at 01:35 pm
Great suggestion Azuquita, I will try to catch that one.
May I also suggest the show Frontline did called "The Warning" this is a VERY good look at how the economic mess really got started and as Frontline is hardly partisan right I think we can agree they are credible. Spoiler alert both partys failed us bigtime.
Rich Buckley November 15, 2012 at 01:37 pm
We live in a split world of reality, a space traveling off-world militarized secret society and the rest of us.
http://tinyurl.com/22npth4 As a youth flying fighters for the Marine Corps, I encountered a UFO over Southern Japan. The craft measured 3,000-feet in diameter. The experience lead me to eventually question everything being taught to us in college physics class. What powers these crafts? The answer to that question unlocks stories of suppressed science known as Zero Point Energy. Until we are able to awaken ourselves to this fundamental social reality of a society split by scientific dogmas, we will not be able to progress away from fossil fuel. There are many over-unity (produces more energy than it takes to run) suppressed energy systems that we should be looking at. Liberate this planet by liberating your mind to look at what's already out there. http://tinyurl.com/87n23fx
Tom November 15, 2012 at 01:49 pm
Rich, I can help you here. That UFO was Mothra, and below him in Tokyo was Godzilla.
Azuquita November 15, 2012 at 01:51 pm
I also believe that both parties have fail us, except for the name calling and some very little differences that people make into big differences, there really isn't two parties, its Greedy people thinking about themselves, not We The People.
William November 15, 2012 at 03:54 pm
Still not cheap enough. Need more domestic production everywhere. And with our own US government barrel price, not market!
David November 15, 2012 at 04:54 pm
Well, Harry, if you really think that, start a non-profit oil company.
By selling oil at half the price, your non-profit oil company would quickly dominate the market. As for the environment, oil is far more "environmentally" friendly that solar, wind, or hydro. As long as we're not bothering to develop next generation nuke plants (thorium, pebble bed) and ceding that to China, we might as well use the next-cleanest fuel--oil and nat gas.
Rob Rich November 15, 2012 at 05:13 pm
Anyone care to cite some sources regarding the purported environmental benefits of petroleum over solar or wind?
Craig Williams November 15, 2012 at 05:36 pm
David the oil companies don't see it like you. They were making 10 percent on a barrel that was selling for $40 ($4 in the 70's) and now its close to $100 . A Goldman Sachs report once predicted there could be a super spike where it could climb to $200 a barrel . Ten percent of $100 is alot more than ten percent of $40.
What they claim in profits and what they reinvest into inventory they watch very closely for PR reasons . Some call it the "control of oil theory." An appropriate slogan should be "Chevron screwed up, consumers pay up." Environmentally we're also very screwed in large part because of the massive PR campaign by Big Oil to convince the public that they had global warming under control. Trust Big Oil on Global Warming.
David November 15, 2012 at 07:02 pm
Sure Craig, because when the cost of goods sold go up in any industry, companies don't raise prices to protect their profit margins.
If the price of widgets go up for Wal-Mart, they don't raise prices to protect their 3.5% profits? When milk goes up, Safeway doesn't hike the price? What planet are you from?
David November 15, 2012 at 07:44 pm
As an example, US energy consumption is 26.6 Terawatts, or 26.6 million megawatts.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_energy_consumption The largest solar plant generates 300 megawatts and covers 1300 hectares. Therefore, if we could duplicate that (think of all the copper, aluminum, and silicon we'd have to "environmentally" mine), we would also cover 115.3 million hectares with solar panels, or 445,045 sq miles. That's only roughly 3 times the size of California. Oh, and then there's the batteries to store the energy at night. That's quite a bit of lithium, nickel, lead etc needed. Or... We can stick a straw in the ground and slurp up some oil. There are oil rigs literally in schools' backyards in LA. Solar is not an "environmentally" friendly solution. As for hydroelectric, well, Californians are blowing up dams. As for wind, well, it's even worse.
Craig Williams November 15, 2012 at 08:45 pm
The widget at Wall Mart in almost all situations will not be an ongoing expense like gas nor mostlikely will it be as concentrated as oil with such a high consumer dependence. They should congradulate each other for having us by the balls. If they were more democratic they would have environmentalists and progressive economists on their boards and move in a more consumer/environmental focus and direction. And the military needs to become the green giants otherwise we are screwed.
Tim November 15, 2012 at 11:07 pm
What we'd have are long lines and rationing like they've had in NY/NJ after Sandy, only much, much worse.
Tim November 15, 2012 at 11:10 pm
NUCLEAR power baby! Get on board. It's clean and provides massive amounts of power compared to other sources with ZERO carbon emissions, and ZERO particulate emissions that are found in fossil fuels. As for the waste it can be reprocessed on site and reused over again. And when it's completely spend, well, that's what Yucca Mountain is for. If you want off of fossil fuels, this is the ONLY way to do it. You aren't ever going to power out nation on wind and solar, ever, period.
Tim November 15, 2012 at 11:17 pm
Yes, as if China isn't already on its way to surpassing our military, lets go green... lets ground all aircraft that burn evil fossil fuel and lets go back to the day when our naval fleet was powered by wind. Yes, indeed, that's the "progressive" America. Quite ironic actually that liberals call themselves "progressives" when they are anything but.
So the "widget" at WalMart is not an ongoing expense? Maybe that "widget" is food. Craig, your waistline would say otherwise. Food is always a recurring expense and as fuel proves increase so do food prices, and prices on just about all other goods and services as well.
Tim November 15, 2012 at 11:20 pm
man caused "global warming" is a hoax. Here's some scientists who agree...
Khabibullo Abdusamatov, mathematician and astronomer at Pulkovo Observatory of the Russian Academy of Sciences[16] Sallie Baliunas, astronomer, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics[17][18] Ian Clark, hydrogeologist, professor, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Ottawa[19] Chris de Freitas, associate professor, School of Geography, Geology and Environmental Science, University of Auckland[20] David Douglass, solid-state physicist, professor, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Rochester[21] Don Easterbrook, emeritus professor of geology, Western Washington University[22] William M. Gray, professor emeritus and head of the Tropical Meteorology Project, Department of Atmospheric Science, Colorado State University[23] William Happer, physicist specializing in optics and spectroscopy, Princeton University[24] William Kininmonth, meteorologist, former Australian delegate to World Meteorological Organization Commission for Climatology[25]
Tim November 15, 2012 at 11:20 pm
David Legates, associate professor of geography and director of the Center for Climatic Research, University of Delaware[26]
Tad Murty, oceanographer; adjunct professor, Departments of Civil Engineering and Earth Sciences, University of Ottawa[27] Tim Patterson, paleoclimatologist and professor of geology at Carleton University in Canada.[28][29] Ian Plimer, professor emeritus of Mining Geology, the University of Adelaide.[30] Nicola Scafetta, research scientist in the physics department at Duke University[31][32] Tom Segalstad, head of the Geology Museum at the University of Oslo[33] Fred Singer, professor emeritus of environmental sciences at the University of Virginia[34][35][36] Willie Soon, astrophysicist, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics[37] Roy Spencer, principal research scientist, University of Alabama in Huntsville[38] Henrik Svensmark, Danish National Space Center[39] Jan Veizer, environmental geochemist, professor emeritus from University of Ottawa[40] * Hat tip Wikipedia
Craig Williams November 15, 2012 at 11:34 pm
Tim what if it wasn't just food but a type of food like beef or wine. Could you do without or modify your choice? Of course. Can most drivers,no. And as far as global warming we've had the warmest temperatures for a decade in thousands of years. And percentage wise well over 90 percent of scientists in weather and earth science related field believe it is no hoax and I believe the chicken shit media is sucking up energy industry advertising money and self censoring itself. Most citizens get their climate change information mostly from oil company tv ads, a trusted name in climate change!!!! Welcome to Climate Change 1984 .
Tim November 15, 2012 at 11:52 pm
Craig, if you want to live somewhere where people "do without or modify" choices of food, and there is a miniscule carbon footprint may I recommend North Korea? There's a nation with a happy citizenry... a true liberal utopia.
Tom November 16, 2012 at 12:32 am
Also a fact about North Korea, there are no evil, racists white people.....
Rich Buckley November 16, 2012 at 10:17 am
We found our weapon's radar gave us radar returns off metallic based materials very consistently. The object was perched at 125,000 feet over Kagoshima, not Mt. Fuji. In the following year an entire B-52 flight in route to Vietnam on a Rolling Thunder bombing mission, flew over (rather than under as we did) within 20,000-feet of the same apparent UFO comprising the highest quality identification of a UFO ever recorded so far. 
The crew members of the B-52 all reported seeing the same thing on their debriefing. Their aircraft all received radar returns. They flew over the top of the disk and reported seeing what appeared to be an 18-story tall observation deck with "beings" visible inside. Those crew members all reported their findings and were sworn to secrecy. I did not report our encounter and was never ordered to not discuss it. Those B-52 crew members still living are now slowly coming forward especially as they see that continuance of silence only continues to perpetuate the powers that be in a hydrocarbon based primary energy economy while Zero Point Energy devices along with a teaching and understanding of the sub-quantum Zero Point Energy physics are ruthlessly suppressed.  End Part 1 of 2
Rich Buckley November 16, 2012 at 10:18 am
More than just the hydrocarbon industry is suppressing this information. Elements within the environmental movement want Earth's population reduced and fear abundant, affordable, nonpolluting energy that frees us from the grid will lead to greatly increased human Earth-based population. The exopolitics therefore require many levels of application beyond just the banking-military-industrial. We must consider also how we will apply this gift of knowledge in our day to day family affairs. 
End Part 2 of 2
David November 16, 2012 at 11:12 am
Craig, you're old enough to remember the coming Ice Age of the '70's.
Why do you believe the grant-seeking "scientists" (with no way to run a reasonable test of their hypotheses) now?
Rob Rich November 16, 2012 at 11:44 am
There are many kinds of "solar." Some types can go right up on your own roof. We actually have quite a bit of available roof space. And the peak output matches quite nicely with peak demand in places like California.
I'll grant you that if your only model is centralized power generation, then oil & nukes fit that bill. Of course that model looks best when you ignore externalities, like pollution. For oil it helps if you deny global warming & nukes have never been able to pencil out, that's why we subsidize them with things like the Price-Anderson Act. It may not be in Big Oil's best interests, but going forward we need to evaluate all energy sources for their true life cycle costs. Don't get me wrong, oil is incredibly valuable stuff. If we play our cards right it will have an important place in our economy for generations to come.
David November 16, 2012 at 11:56 am
The problem with "distributed" solar supplementing power plants is that power plants run most efficiently at a mostly constant rate. Inefficient "peaker plants" (usually diesel) use overcomes gains from using solar.
Dalamar November 16, 2012 at 12:06 pm
Climate change is taking place. It is undisputable. For every "source" you can find saying its a hoax, I can find 5 confirming it.
The question is not whether or not climate change is occuring at a faster than "normal" rate. The real question is HOW MUCH human activity is accelerating it and what humans as a global community should be doing to minimize the damage.
David Mills (Editor) November 16, 2012 at 12:34 pm
Hello, folks. Thanks for your comments and the lively discussion. We think everyone has had a chance to be heard on this topic, so we are closing off comments on this particular story.
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Nika Megino (Editor) May 30, 2013 at 10:45 am
When is Kid's Night Out?
Pacific West Gymnastics June 8, 2013 at 09:18 am
Hey Nika, Sorry for the delay. We offer Kid's Night Out 1 to 2 times per month. We have oneRead More tonight, actually! Our full schedule is on our website (http://pacwestgymnastics.com/camps-events/kids-night-out/). Thanks!