Drew Griffin | BIO
CNN Investigative Correspondent

I just paid less than 2 bucks a gallon for gas. In my world, that’s about 20 bucks a week or 80 bucks a month. No government involvement, no government workers mailing government printed checks, no government wasted time deciding who gets and doesn’t get the government printed checks.

And after I filled up, hopped in my car and flipped on CNN (yes on satellite radio. I’m a news junkie) I hear about another push for another stimulus package we can’t afford.

Why?

Isn’t the drop in gas prices giving us a market driven stimulus package? Didn’t the last stimulus package do little, if anything, to stimulate the economy? Didn’t voters make clear that run-away spending is one reason we wanted change?

I’d be more stimulated if congress actually stopped handing out money it will eventually have to take back.

David Mattingly | BIO
AC360° Correspondent

What did you do this weekend? Like many in Atlanta, I spent my afternoons sitting in lines at gas stations.

All stations within a couple of miles from my house were empty.

Stations that had gas also had lines ringing the block. Some wait times exceeded an hour.

It’s not unusual to hear of motorists following tanker trucks hoping they will lead to a gas station that will soon have gas.

I was one of the lucky ones. My wait times were under a half hour. I wonder what will happen the next time my tank is going dry?

 To Any Politician Who Gives a ‘You Know What:’

Hello. I am a correspondent with CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360. My family and I are also residents of Atlanta, Georgia. My question for you: Are Atlanta and nearby regional cities such as Charlotte and Nashville part of America?

The reason I ask is this: We have almost no gasoline, while almost all other cities in the United States have all the gasoline they want.

We are spending hours cruising the streets and highways looking for gas. Only a small percentage of stations have fuel and you never know who will have it.

Many gas station owners jack up their prices and scores of vehicles lining up are creating dangerous driving conditions on clogged streets and highways.

People cut in line, either accidentally or on purpose, and tempers flare. Violence is always a possibility.

Now, I remember back in the early 70’s and the late 70’s when the whole nation suffered like this. But we suffered collectively, as a nation.

Now, it’s only our small region of the country suffering. The experts say it’s because of supply problems as a result of the hurricanes. Never mind that Houston and Dallas, two cities much closer to Ike have gas.

We are expected to chill and not worry. I say that because some of our local politicians insist that this is not a major problem and that people are “panicking.” Hey, I’m as calm as can be. But I am angry at the lack of understanding.

I hate to tell you political leaders who don’t drive your own cars all that much, but this is a major problem. In the last week, I have traveled to Miami, New York City, and Anchorage, Alaska and watched enviously as drivers got gas easily with no wait.

So here’s my thought: Since we’re all part of America, maybe some of our national politicians can get us some gas. I figure if this was happening in Washington (or places like New York or LA) for that matter, this wouldn’t be allowed to happen.

Meanwhile, maybe some of the politicians in Georgia, Tennessee, and North Carolina, can get a little more worked up — whether they agree or not — about something that is causing much havoc in their states.

If y’all don’t think it worth helping us, perhaps we’ll vote you out. That is, if we have the gas to make it to the polls.

Sincerely,
Gary Tuchman
AC360 Correspondent

Steve Brusk
CNN Political Desk Senior Assignment Editor

It’s 2am in MARIETTA, Georgia — Am I really sitting here in the parking lot of a convenience store, waiting for a fuel truck to fill the tanks?

Yup, because the simple task of getting gas on the way home from work has now taken me to eight stations.

Same story at each — nozzle covered by plastic bags, numbers taken off the sign, little pieces of paper taped to each pump with the word “out”.

There’s no real gas shortage, mind you. Just a temporary reduction in the supplies to cities in the southeast like Atlanta, thanks to the twin impacts of Hurricanes Gustav and Ike.

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Ismael Estrada
AC360° Producer

It’s still here after all these years.

The area of Prince William Sound in Alaska is breathtaking.  The snow capped mountains are filled with brown bears, bald eagles and other wildlife. You can spot whales and sea otters swimming with a glacier off in the distance.

But talk to the people here and they’ll tell you they love the beauty, but big business is in their back yard and they are frustrated.

Earlier this summer the U.S. Supreme Court reduced punitive damages awarded to citizens of Prince William Sound over the Exxon Valdez oil spill here in 1989.   A jury initially awarded $5 billion for the devastation here. In 1994, a federal court cut that in half. And in June, the Supreme Court cut it to $500 million — enraging many people living here. And now Exxon is arguing it shouldn’t have to pay interest for the delay in making payments. Keep reading

David Gergen
CNN Sr. Political Analyst
AC360° Contributor

It looks like gas could hit $5 a gallon shortly and perhaps even $6 a gallon by the end of the year. This is a huge problem for drivers, the auto industry and airlines, of course. And it could lead to significant changes in the way we live.

It also might have some grab in the presidential campaign: how much is the rumbling over a possible strike against Iran driving up prices? There was a lot of speculation last week about that. Then the price of oil went down yesterday because nothing happened over the weekend regarding Iran.

With Bush and the Israelis talking quietly about hitting Iran before Bush leaves office, and McCain and Obama in such different positions about how to handle Iran, it’s worth exploring higher energy prices. What’s behind them: is there really a conspiracy among speculators; what is the Iran connection? Keep reading

Leslie Sanchez
GOP Strategist and AC360° Contributor

Reeling from GOP attacks on her lack of leadership on energy issues, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is ramping up her party’s attack on so-called oil speculators.

It’s the same song, different verse, for a Congress with historically low approval ratings now in the single digits. The Republicans’ newly aggressive push for more drilling may be late in the game, but it represents real solutions.

For more than a decade, Pelosi and the Democrats have opposed reasonable efforts to find more oil here at home. She and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) are refusing to support—or even allow a clean vote on drilling in ANWR (Arctic National Wildlife Refuge).

Keep reading

Leslie Sanchez
GOP Strategiest and 360 Contributor

The November election may turn – not on the situation in Iraq as was once believed- but the price of gasoline at the pump. Or at least on which of the two candidates – John McCain or Barrack Obama – has what voters believe he has the more credible plan to bring it down.

Now, the rhetoric on this issue has been extremely heated and, among Democrats, is fueled, no pun intended, by charges that the Bush energy policy is by and for the so-called big oil companies. But is that really the case?

In fact, the Bush policy – while recognizing the important role that fossil fuels will play for America and the world for some time – is heavy on the development of clean energy alternatives to fossil fuels. Since 2001, the Bush team has invested almost $22 billion in clean energy R & D. In 2007 alone, they’ve put almost $1 billion into the development of new generation biofuels like cellulosic ethanol, which is made from plants that are not – unlike corn – part of the food chain.

That’s the Bush policy. And, according to his campaign Website, it’s the Obama policy too. Let’s review the headlines… Keep reading

Sen. John McCain says it's time for the federal government 'to put our own reserves to use.'

Ed Henry BIO
White House Correspondent

So much for John McCain distancing himself from President Bush.

The presumptive Republican presidential nominee has rolled out a new TV ad saying he’s more of an environmentalist than Bush. “John McCain stood up to the President and sounded the alarm on global warming five years ago,” says the ad, noting the Senator has a plan to “curb greenhouse emissions” realistically.

But now, less than 24 hours later, Bush is unveiling a move that will undoubtedly increase greenhouse gas emissions, by increasing the supply of oil, and it’s a move supported by (drumroll, please) John McCain.

Marching in lockstep with the general outlines of a plan McCain signed on to Tuesday, Bush revealed Wednesday he wants to end the federal ban on offshore oil drilling. What’s new is that while Bush has previously pushed for offshore drilling, he had not called for the specific step of lifting the federal ban.

This is obviously a response to the President’s growing political problem of $4-a-gallon gasoline, which may increase the chances of a recession and mar his final months in office.
Keep reading

Police say thieves are drilling holes in cars to steal gasoline straight from the tank. WSBT's Dustin Grove reports.

Bloggers,

It was only a matter of time…

With oil at record high’s and gas prices hitting $4 a gallon, people have taken to drilling for oil… from other people’s tanks.

That’s right; while the price at the pump has already forced some people to curtail their summer plans and stay home… others are looking to their own backyards, to steal gas.

Gasoline prices surged just before Memorial Day weekend and on Monday hit a new record national average $3.937 for a gallon of regular, according to a survey of stations by AAA and the Oil Price Information Service

As the price of gas rises, more people are stealing from stations and siphoning. CNN's Kathleen Koch reports.

Although tank puncturing isn’t on the radar of many law enforcement organizations, ‘AAA Mid-Atlantic’ issued a press release last month that cited a case in April in Bethesda, Md., involving a thief who broke the fuel line underneath a car and sapped five gallons of gas… Montgomery County police said a bus in the same parking lot had 30 gallons of diesel stolen.

Suggestions from AAA? 
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