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Gas Prices Soar, White House to Require More Ethanol Use

By Joe Benton
ConsumerAffairs.com

April 11, 2007
Gasoline prices are steadily moving toward $3 a gallon as crude oil prices continue to fluctuate and consumer demand for gasoline rises.

Drivers are paying an average of $2.80 a gallon for regular unleaded gasoline, according to AAA, of Heathrow, Florida, an increase of 8 cents since Friday, April 6.

One month ago a gallon of regular self-serve gasoline sold for $2.54 and one year ago regular sold for $2.68

Midgrade gasoline is up 8 cents and is now selling for $2.97 a gallon. Premium gasoline is selling for an average of $3.07 a gallon, up 7 cents since April 6.

Diesel fuel is selling for an average of $2.91 a gallon. That is up 3 cents compared with five days ago.

Drivers in South Lake Tahoe, California pay the most for regular gasoline at $3.59 a gallon for regular unleaded. Drivers in Montezuma, Georgia are seeing the lowest price in the nation at $2.35 a gallon.

As consumer gasoline prices begin to flirt with a new all-time-record-high price, the Bush administration announced it would require motorists to use at least 4.7 billion gallons of alternative fuels, primarily corn-derived ethanol, this year.

The administration plans to require consumers to use 7.5 billion gallons of alternative fuels annually by 2012.

"The renewable fuels standard offers the American people a hat trick -- it protects the environment, strengthens our energy security and supports America's farmers," Steve Johnson, administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said.

The new rule requires that 4.02 percent of gasoline in 2007 be made of renewable fuels. That amounts to 4.7 billion gallons and is only about 1 percent higher than in 2006.

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