Gas prices soar in wake of hurricane

Hurricane Katrina blasted through the Gulf of Mexico and battered the coast of Louisiana and Mississippi, but the economic ripple has drifted across the nation and the Hoosier heartland from Bloomington to South Bend. \nAmericans have become accustomed to their century-old love affair with the automobile, but, similar to the folk song by Bob Dylan, "the times they are a-changin.'" The average price of gas spiked beyond $3 a gallon throughout many neighborhoods across the country between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. Many southern communities victimized by Hurricane Katrina awoke to prices of up to $6 per gallon after the Environmental Protection Agency eased certain restrictions on gasoline price caps in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Georgia.\nWhile Hoosier motorists didn't see their gas prices double as they did in the South, in South Bend, gas prices rose to $3.50 per gallon, and Bloomington motorists saw gas prices more than $3 across the board Wednesday afternoon. The well even ran dry at some pumps throughout Indiana, with stations in Columbus and Fort Wayne posting signs saying "out of gas."\n"A lot of customers are wondering what will happen next and I have no clue. That's what I tell them, I don't know," said Bloomington resident and BP service station employee Vonda Rentschler. "Customers have been pretty pleasant about the gas price increase considering how much it has gone up in the last year. They have had the same frustration since June. One customer said he is going to go to a horse and buggy because oat has to be cheaper than gas."\nAccording to the Web site indianagasprices.com, the average Hoosier gas station increased the price at the pump from $2.70 to $3.12 for one gallon of unleaded gasoline. The national average was $2.86 as of Wednesday.\nRentschler, who works at Walker's BP Amoco, 3205 East St., said the price for one gallon of unleaded gasoline jumped from Monday's price of $2.69 to $3.19 Wednesday night. She said her station's average gas consumer spent about the same dollar amount per transaction as before the price increase, although each patron is spending more on fuel and less on beverages, snack foods and lottery tickets. \nPresident Bush announced in a press conference Wednesday that Americans might expect continued price increases at the pump and fuel shortages in some pockets across the nation because Hurricane Katrina's assault on eight refineries and numerous Southern pipelines has disrupted about 5 million barrels worth of oil since Friday. Some national lawmakers and administration officials have requested Bush tap into the 700 million barrels of crude oil stored in the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve instead of American pocketbooks, as well as a temporary loosing of pollution standards for gasoline and diesel fuel. \nDespite King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia's pledge to increase petroleum production by one and a half million barrels of oil a day and European hints of unloading their own government-controlled gas and oil stockpiles to stabilize the international market, some IU students are trading in their car keys for walking shoes, bus tickets and carpool-offering friends. \n"I spent $25 to fill my tank when gas was $2.50 a gallon but now it will cost $30 to $35 -- it's sad and ridiculous," said junior Rachel Wilson, whose Saturn burns half a tank of gas during a one-way trip home to Marion, Ind. "It's not a huge chunk of money but every dollar adds up. I'd rather spend my money on anything else but gas. I have enough worries on my mind ... Look at this in a positive light -- we can all get more exercise and less parking tickets. Everybody has been on this kick about obesity. Maybe we can all get up a little earlier and walk to class."\nUnionville resident and senior Sean McInerney, who depends on his Ford Ranger pickup truck to sustain his landscaping business, said he just about busts his wallet each time he trades $42 for a full tank of gasoline. Unlike many businesses across America that are trickling down the gas price increase onto their consumers, he said he refuses to pass on his increased expenses to his long-term loyal customers by "jacking up" his landscaping rates. \n"I have to work much harder for longer to make the same amount of income. I guess I think about ways to consume less gas -- I fill my tank every three to four days," McInerney said. "I'll have to rethink a lot of things, like buying a more fuel-efficient car ... If you can walk, walk. Frankly, in some ways, it's easier. Bloomington isn't that big."\nFreshman Trevor Hunsberger, similar to the opinion of Rentschler, said he isn't happy about the gas price increase because he has less disposable income leftover for recreation and entertainment. He also said his 1990 Oldsmobile swallows about $10 worth of gas per quarter of a tank, so he hasn't driven in a while because of the petroleum spike.\n"There's really not much we can do," Hunsberger said while waiting for the campus stadium shuttle to bus him to his parked auto. "I hear there's a limited amount of oil so the price of gas is going to go up until there's no more to sell."\nWilson said the increased price at the pump has cost her family support because she doesn't travel home as often, groceries because her gas costs more than food, and other domestic goods like toiletries because the distance to Bloomington's Wal-Mart from campus is no longer worth their rollback in prices. \n"I don't mind if my gas tank is on empty because I'm reluctant to spend more than $20 each time I need gas," she said. "With an ATM card you don't notice the price increase that much but I have much harder time letting go of hard, cold, physical cash."\nThe Associated Press contributed to this story.