Gas prices are currently on the rise, adding strain on the wallets of many Americans. Especially hit hard are high school students, many of which have drivers licenses but do not have high paying jobs.

FHS student and car lover, Gregory Sanchez believes that gas prices will only continue to increase due to the current war between Russia and Ukraine. He also believes that part of the reason for the prices spiking is an attempt by the federal government to reduce impact on the environment.

“Our president wants us to be more eco-friendly,” Sanchez said. “California is going to force us to [use] electric cars one way or another.”  

 Sanchez believes that as gas prices continue to tick up, more and more people will turn to electric cars as a possible alternative. Sanchez expressed concern over the way that lithium based electric batteries for cars are made, claiming that the process hurts the environment. 

Devan Lamori is a student at Mission College who drives himself to school. Lamori has also expressed his concern with the increasing gas prices and longs for some relief. He hopes for a change where the prices are lowered down to how they were before or lower than that. According to the Energy Information Administration gas prices in California hit a recent low point in 2020 with around $2.60 a gallon and are now up over $5.75 a gallon. Lamori fears that gas prices will only continue to rise. He recognizes that some people need to drive to get to work for example and the extra strain on their budgets could make these gas prices unaffordable. In effect, it could cause some people to fall further into poverty. Even possibly causing a feedback loop with those who have fewer resources already having to drive more to work paying more for gas. 

In response to this spike in gas prices California Governor Gavin Newsom has proposed an $11 billion relief bill. This proposed bill would give every Californian $400 for each vehicle to counteract high gas prices. 

Newsom has taken a lot of steps to move away from fossil fuels in California but with cars still needing gas, and less of it produced in California this only means that California is relying on higher priced imported oil according to the Western States Petroleum Association, a non profit organization which represents oil and gas companies.