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Gas Prices May Put the Brakes on Your Vacation
Across the country, gas prices are hitting new records! At over three dollars a gallon, the price of gas is on the rise. The previous record was set way back in 1981.
Gasoline is made from oil in factories called refineries. Until oil is refined, we can't use it to fill up our tanks. The refineries get the oil from other countries like Iran in the Middle East, Venezuela in South America, and Nigeria in Africa. Usually, the price of gas goes up when the price of oil goes up.
This time the price of oil didn't go up. Instead, many of the refineries that turn it into gas are having problems. In Indiana, a huge refinery is making less gasoline because it broke down and needs repairs. In Texas, another large plant was shut down for a month. So with summer almost here there is not enough gas to meet the demand.
Gas costs the most in California. At the time of this story, people in San Francisco are paying $3.62 a gallon. The cheapest place to buy gas is Columbia, South Carolina where it only costs $2.81.
With prices like this, the only way to save money is to drive less. So it looks as if a lot of family vacations may stay a little closer to home.
I'm Ben and that's what happened in our nation this week!
Let's play the Pinpoint game and locate the places in my story!
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