Our society functions smoothly with efficient transportation and rapid commutes. In the past month, commuting has become increasingly more expensive. Gas prices have risen every day for the past few weeks since the Ukraine-Russia conflict began. Shortly after Russia’s forces invaded Ukraine, President Biden halted oil and energy trade with Russia. This is the main reason gas prices are sky-high. Russia provides 8% of the United State’s crude oil.

Many high school students have tendencies to drive around town with their friends if there isn’t anything else to do. Driving around is one of the only things to do in a town like Atlantic. Now that gas prices are record-high, excessive driving isn’t necessarily a good option anymore. Young high school students that have jobs usually don’t make a large amount of money.

Here in Atlantic, regular gas is currently at an average cost of $3.89/gallon. Just a few weeks ago, it was averaging about $3.15/gallon. People who own larger vehicles have to pay over $100 to fill up their tank. Community members will have to start saving as much gas as possible. The average cost in the United States is currently $4.33 per gallon. The highest prices are in California, where the average prices are $5.75 per gallon.

Sources say gas prices will continue to rise and will not become better until later this year. “It’s a dire situation and won’t improve anytime soon,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, in a company news release. “The high prices are likely to stick around for not days or weeks, like they did in 2008, but months.”