Actually, our gas is $1.75 as of this morning, and that's within the DC Metro area. You just need to move to the right states.
As far as California, they don't "care" about the environment. They were ordered to decrease emmissions by anyway possible. This is where all the various gas mixtures came from as well as special car-engine designs. What the nation should do is do a sweeping legislative change requiring all states to be buring California grade gas and the auto makers need to meet the higher standards. Then, you would see your gas and auto prices begin to fall, since there will be less funds spent on producing specialized fuels or engines.
