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Thanks for the tip, Evan. However, even though gasoline is such a ubiquitous and essential part of our society, I find it somewhat confusing to compare prices. Most stations have three different grades of gas, so it's not clear which grade the prices you have quoted reflect. Then there is the factor of whether the different grades are really important or even essential, which may depend on which car one drives. Finally, I am never really sure whether the brand name correlates with quality of gas. Is the stuff that comes out of the pump at Thrifty really the same as what I get from Chevron?

David - If you click through to the site, you'll find a page with comprehensive information that includes all three grades of gas for each station. evan's summary is Regular Unleaded.
http://www.ojainews.com/2007/07/ojai_valley_gas_prices.shtml

I'm unsure about the quality of the gas itself at these places.

I hope you are not promoting cheap gas here! Today's LATimes has a front page story about how people are so peeved at the pump that they'll drive miles to fill up more cheaply!

Cheap gas encourages driving. It bears repeating that Uncle Sam subsidizes our car culture and that in the US we pay far less than most industrialized countries. Here in Ojai the "actual" cost of gasoline is not factored into the retail price of gas.

"What does it take to pay for US troops in the Middle East responsible for protecting reserves? What is the cost to society of the adverse health effects of burning fossil fuels? These costs are all difficult to quantify and tend to be highly contentious issues."

Most studies have shown that the actual price of gas should be $5.60 a gallon at a bare minimum. Some studies show that the true cost of gas is between $10-$15 a gallon, possibly much more.

I hope that looking for cheap gas does not turn us away from looking at the TRUE cost of gasoline!
http://www.communityenvironmentalcouncil.org/Programs/EP/pop_gasChart.htm

A great resource on the hidden cost of our Car Culture is "Asphalt Nation: How the Automobile Took Over America and How We Can Take It Back"?

One more, a little long, but the last sentence is worth reminding us that gasoline is blood.

"True Cost of U.S. Gasoline is $15.14 per Gallon, Report Says

by Tom Doggett & edited by The Progress Report staff.

So you think you're getting a good deal on a tank of gasoline these days? You wouldn't think so if all the oil industry tax subsidies received from the federal and state governments and other costs that went into producing that gallon of gasoline were included in the pump price.
Such external costs push the true price of gasoline as high as $15.14 a gallon, according to a new report released by the International Centre for Technology Assessment.

"In reality, the external costs of using our cars are much higher than we may realize," the Washington-based research group said in its report.

The report examined more than 40 separate cost factors, the group said, that are associated with gasoline production but aren't reflected by the price of gasoline at the pump.
These external costs total up to $1.69 trillion per year, according to the report.

The group points out that the federal government provides the oil industry with tax breaks and massive corporate welfare handouts, so gasoline is artificially cheap for American consumers.

The Department of Energy is forecasting that the national price for regular unleaded gasoline will average $1.02 during the current quarter, which, when adjusted for inflation, is the lowest price on record for any three-month period.

Artificial, anti-free-market subsidies don't end at the federal level, as the group said most state income taxes are in turn based on oil firms' lower federal tax bills, which result in companies paying $123 million to $323 million less in state taxes.

In addition to tax breaks, the federal government provides up to $114.6 billion to the wealthy industry in giveaways and subsidies annually that support the extraction, production and use of petroleum, such as research and development and export financing.

The federal government also spends up to $1.6 billion yearly on regulatory oversight, pollution cleanup and liability costs connected to the oil industry, the group said.

In addition, U.S. military spending allocated to guard the world's petroleum resources totals $55 billion to $96 billion a year, according to the group."

great reminders and completely valid points, Suza! while the brief summary does highlight the least expensive gas, my observation shows that people don't seem willing to drive out of their way to get it. the consistently highest-priced gas in our valley - Union 76, at the Y - sees as steady a flow of customers as any other station...even the Shell in Oak View, ALWAYS more expensive than the Thrifty a couple of blocks away, is full all day long. so on a very local scale, we don't seem to be doing extra driving just to fuel up. (however, at 30,000 trips in and out of the Valley each day - according to statistics shared at the last Ojai Valley Wide Discussion - there simply aren't enough gas stations to be choosy. fewer trips and fewer cars overall is still a valid and desirable goal.)

however, your points remain. the hidden costs and our car-ful culture are indeed heavy considerations.

perhaps we can add another column: bicycling. for the cost, we calculate the current value of a healthy vegan breakfast comprised of local ingredients! whaddaya think, Tyler?

Suza,

No doubt you are telling us all something good and important to hear, but I am not quite clear what it is. If the price of gasoline is so artificially low, are you recommending we go out and find the highest prices we can pay? if not, what ARE you saying?

(please don't answer by quoting somebody again.... i want to hear what you think.....)

I was simply saying that I hope we are not promoting the desirability of cheap gas here. I am saying we should be questioning why gas is so cheap in the US compared to the rest of the world. I am saying that if we want to drive six blocks to the Ojai Valley Athletic Club to ride a stationary bicycle spare me the ranting and raving over the cost of gas!

I am saying let us educate ourselves about the TRUE cost of gas, treat it like the precious resource it is, conserve and use it wisely, and demonstrate a willingness to pay the TRUE cost as part of the larger vision for creating a sustainable world.

Thank you for your comments Evan!

LA Times article today about Oil's winners and losers,
and there are more of the latter. At approaching $100
a barrel, prices now effect all corners of the world, but
close to home they will be a primary factor in
the coming depression and meltdown of the dollar.
More than one professional strategist indicates low
consumer spending and confidence, housing slump,
stock market dives all directly resulting from oil
price fluctuation, or, that is, manipulation.