Soaring Gas Prices Exhaust Students' Budgets

In addition to the massive devastation in New Orleans and southern Mississippi, rising gasoline prices caused by the fury of Hurricane Katrina have UC Berkeley students reeling.

After at least eight oil refineries located near the Gulf of Mexico coast remain shut down for the fifth day due to the hurricane, oil prices reached record highs Wednesday. In California, crude oil prices soared to $67.06 a barrel, said California Energy Commission spokesperson Rob Schlichting.

The increased gas prices, which have risen 40 to 50 cents since the hurricane and are set to hit more than $3 a gallon by the weekend, have left many students angry about the already difficult task of having a car in Berkeley.

"It's absurd," said Stephany Molina, a UC Berkeley junior who drives to campus everyday from San Francisco. "I'm not going to keep driving if this keeps up. I paid $35 for half a tank today and I'd rather save that money."

But others said that having a car in the city is not a convenience, but a necessity.

"I really don't like taking the bus," said junior Sandi Wong. "I just don't feel as safe."

Students also expressed concern about the toll gas prices would take on their already strained budgets.

"We're students. We don't have a source of income that's critical for paying for gas which means we have to cut down on our food and personal expenses," said senior Titus Oh. "I have no choice. If I have to drive, then I have to drive."

The Gulf coast refineries account for 10 percent of the country's production capacity, said Severin Borenstein, director of the UC Energy Institute.

Though most of that oil does not get shipped to California, refineries in the Caribbean that do ship to California will now be selling to the East Coast and the South, where the oil situation is more dire, he said.

"We need to find ways of increasing fuel efficiency," Borenstein said. "People need to recognize that the price of gas has been rising for a very long time and it will continue rising. If students are driving their parents' SUVs that get 15 miles to the gallon, then I don't feel sorry for them."

Commission officials appointed by the governor to investigate rising prices say the recent spike can also be attributed to the upcoming Labor Day weekend, when gas prices jump every year due to the number of people traveling.

A recent fire at a large refinery in Martinez has also temporarily driven the costs higher in California, Schlichting said.

"Rising prices is a big problem," Schlichting said. "We've seen a rise of 75 cents per gallon in California just this year. If prices of crude oil continue to climb as they are, we're not going to see a reduction in prices."

UC Berkeley economics professor Martha Olney stressed that students have to utilize the extensive Bay Area transit systems in order to counter the rising costs that they face.

"Three dollars is the minimum that we're going to see," she said. "(Students) are going to take BART, they're going to get their AC Transit passes, and they're going to walk."

However, Olney said she expected that these changes in student transportation will not take place overnight.

"In situations like this, people initially don't change their behavior," she said. "Students think ‘I'll just cut back on going to the movies' or ‘I won't spend Friday night out,' but in next fall, they'll be taking BART. It will happen."

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