As inflation and war in Ukraine continue, gas prices are at the highest they’ve ever been. Since 2002, gas prices in the U.S. have been increasing substantially, with a sharp drop in 2009 during the economic recession. In 2012, the U.S. reached the highest in eight years at $3.60. 

Given that many students and adults drive to school and work every day, this increase has a direct impact on drivers’ weekly gas spending. 

“I drive a Toyota Corolla, which I bought for its fuel efficiency, but I’m spending $75 on gas per week (and that number continues to rise). I live in Oxnard, so I expect my weekly gas expense to rise to $100/week,” social science teacher DJ Cook said. 

Many Oak Park High School students drive themselves to school and pay for their own gas. Such an increase in gas prices may affect not only students’ budgets but also their social life. 

“I spend about $120 on gas for a 20-gallon tank when it used to cost about $80-ish. I live in Simi and driving to Oak Park every day is already a lot of gas, but when friends want to hang out and do things I don’t want to because of the gas prices,” senior Angie Bleau said. 

Seniors, at least, can work to pay for gas. Sophomores, on the other hand, often can’t work due to their age, so paying for gas might be more difficult. 

“I didn’t fill up my tank since gas prices have gone up and it cost me a full $120 to fill up my tank,” sophomore Corbin Fuchs said. “The higher prices are insane but it’s making me drive slower so I get a better gas mileage.”

As the prices rise, the amount paid for gas taxes will rise as well. However, Gavin Newsom stated in his January budget proposal that he called for canceling an increase in California’s gas tax that’s scheduled for July. 

While the rising gas prices cause a major issue in our economy, the increased cost might just push more people to buy more environmentally friendly options.

“The price of the Tesla was comparable to a combustion engine car that we would want. The cost of the solar panels [was] significant, as we purchased them, but this investment contributed to the overall sustainability of our home decreasing what we need to pull from the grid. According to our Southern California Edison bill, our Tesla required less than $100 to charge for the duration of one month,” Science Department Chair and biology teacher Winnie Sloan said. 

According to experts, although America doesn’t use large quantities of  Russian oil, the war in Ukraine still affects our economy. Most of Russia’s oil goes to Europe and Asia, but because oil is priced all throughout the global market, what happens in one part of the world will have a domino effect on other parts of the world. 

“My hope is that we invest in alternative energy sources and decrease our dependence on any fossil fuels. The problem is that as we shift away from gas and oil the burden falls on coal to fill the void and this has an even larger impact on the environment,” Sloan said. 

While not everyone can easily afford an electric car, there are other ways to decrease spending so much money on gas. 

One thing you can do is to drive smarter. Don’t go out to eat as much and consider carpooling with people when given the option. You can also stop buying premium gas. In many cases, high-performance cars require premium gas; however, it will say so in the owner’s manual — so check before you buy.

There are many positive and negative effects of gas prices rising and how it will impact our area as well.

“The negative impact will hit lower socioeconomic communities the hardest.  The ones that are already struggling to make ends meet will have to cut things they need from their life because fuel is inelastic and people will need to purchase it to continue going to work, taking their kids to school, etc. The positive impact will be the accelerated push towards electric vehicles.  Unfortunately, that will take time and the impacts of inflation and rising gas prices will be felt immediately,” Cook said.