Venturing out into the cold to fill your tank is painful, but just wait until you see the meter.
The cost of gasoline has now soared to $3 or more for all 50 states and the District of Columbia, reports 24/7 Wall St.
Oil rich states and regions near the Gulf of Mexico — Texas, North Dakota, New Mexico, Louisiana, New Mexico — to name a few, did not escape the high fuel prices.
In some states, gas prices barely dipped below $4. This includes the densely populated states of California and New York, where prices are above $3.50.
Rising fuel prices seem counterintuitive at a time when newly discovered natural gas reserves and improvements in fracking technology have ramped up American-based production.
During his annual State of the Union address, President Obama touted his administration for bolstering fuel production and moving America further down the path towards energy independence.
“The all-of-the-above energy strategy I announced a few years ago is working, and today, America is closer to energy independence than we’ve been in decades,” he said. (RELATED: ANALYSIS: Obama says ‘all of the above’ but promises more flawed energy policies)
Obama highlighted the booming natural gas industry, “One of the reasons why is natural gas, if extracted safely, it’s the bridge fuel that can power our economy with less of the carbon pollution that causes climate change.”
“My administration will keep working with the industry to sustain production and job growth while strengthening protection of our air, our water, and our communities,” Obama promised.
“The president is taking credit for something he has nothing to do with. All of the increases in production that have occurred over the past couple of years have been on private and on state lands,” Institute for Energy Research president Thomas J. Pyle told The Daily Caller News Foundation.
Pyle explained to TheDCNF, “There has actually been a decrease in overall production on federal lands over that same period of time.”
Fuel prices are influenced by many factors, most of them outside the Obama administration’s control. But experts think some policies can help.
Along with reducing federal regulations, Pyle contended going forward with the Keystone XL Pipeline would be a step in the right direction.
Building the pipeline “would have a stabilizing effect on the prices,” argued Pyle. Further, it would tighten our bond with Canada.
Environmentalists vehemently oppose the construction of the pipeline, arguing that it will contribute to global warming. But a new State Department report found that the pipeline would not have a “significant” effect on greenhouse gas emissions.
The Obama administration has yet to make its final decision on Keystone.
“No president has benefited more from oil and gas production or has been more antithetical towards it at the same time,” Pyle concluded.
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