Free Republic

WASHINGTON — AAA Mid-Atlantic says the civil war in Iraq is pushing up gasoline prices in the United States. Drivers in the District of Columbia are paying $3.89 per gallon. That’s up 5 cents from a week ago and is far above the national average of $3.68 per gallon. In Maryland, AAA says gas prices are up 4 cents this week to an average of $3.67 per gallon. Prices are highest in the Washington suburbs and western Maryland. In Delaware, AAA says gas prices have risen 7 cents over the past week to about $3.68 per gallon. AAA says national...

President Barack Obama has defended his energy strategy claiming there is no easy answer to the problem of rising gas prices. 'We know there's no silver bullet that will bring down gas prices or reduce our dependence on foreign oil overnight,' Obama said on Saturday in his weekly radio and Internet address dismissing Republican solutions as little more than gimmicks. 'But what we can do is get our priorities straight and make a sustained, serious effort to tackle this problem.'

Gore’s activism not as welcome when gas costs 4 bucks By Alexander Bolton Posted: 07/16/08 04:33 PM [ET] Gore’s activism not as welcome when gas costs 4 bucks By Alexander Bolton Al Gore hopes to put global warming back at the top of Washington’s agenda Thursday, but some Democrats in Congress are questioning his timing when they are getting pummeled by Republicans over record gas prices. Gore hopes to deliver a major speech on the environment at Constitution Hall in Washington Thursday that will “press the reset button on how people are looking at the energy crisis and the climate...

With the price of gas approaching $4 a gallon, more commuters are abandoning their cars and taking the train or bus instead. Mass transit systems around the country are seeing standing-room-only crowds on bus lines where seats were once easy to come by. Parking lots at many bus and light rail stations are suddenly overflowing, with commuters in some towns risking a ticket or tow by parking on nearby grassy areas and in vacant lots. “In almost every transit system I talk to, we’re seeing very high rates of growth the last few months,” said William W. Millar, president of...