So you know that gasoline prices at the pump are at a record high, registering around $3.20 a gallon—their highest levels since 1981, even when adjusted for inflation.

But AAA says the high prices won’t curtail road trips over Memorial Day weekend, though travelers will stay closer to home. An estimated 38 million people will travel 50 miles or more, the group says.

Speaking of driving
President Bush wants better fuel efficiency standards for new cars, meaning he wants cars to bet better gas mileage. Apparently the standards haven’t changed in over 10 years—at 27.5 miles per gallon (mpg). The Senate is looking to push it to 35 mpg by 2020. Apparently Europe’s is 40 mpg.

Bush asked for a plan by the end of 2008, just before he leaves office, leaving little time to enact a policy change. Check out the fuel efficiency in your car and get some tips for bettering it in your car!

The California way
California, where gas prices are on average 50 cents higher than the rest of the country, lobbied the Environmental Protection Agency to let the state impose stricter greenhouse gas emissions restrictions on cars and trucks. Eleven other states are asking for the same waiver. If the government doesn’t budge, the Governator says the state will sue.

The big picture
In April the Supreme Court ruled that the EPA is responsible for regulating greenhouse gas emissions in cars under the Clean Air Act, which they had denied authority over. The ruling emboldened California’s appeal to the EPA to enact its own, stricter standards and likely spurred President Bush to call for better fuel standards.

As for today’s high gas prices, a slew of recent problems at the refineries have pressured supply during a period of high demand. And as the summer driving season officially kicks off this weekend, prices could climb higher as summer is notoriously a time for higher prices at the pump. The question is, how high will they go?