As Nicole Baxter stood by the gas pump filling up her tank at the West Durham BP on the corner of Ninth and Main streets, the rapidly rising total on the meter was not the only thing on her mind.
In addition to being concerned about the financial burden, Baxter said she hopes higher gas prices will encourage Republican and Democratic presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama, respectively, to focus on improving public transportation in the upcoming election. The rising price of fuel is an issue important to Americans in Durham and across the country, and is a major talking point in the presidential election.
Baxter added that despite her usual preference for "bleeding-heart liberal policy," she would suspend her political leaning to vote for the candidate whom she feels has the best stance on specific energy issues.
"[My] vote is going to be based on whether Obama or McCain is willing to give funding to states to use for public transportation development," she said.
Energy and environmental policies have captured the nation's attention, to the extent that some Americans are willing to stake their vote on a single issue. And as the candidates gear up for the last stretch before Election Day, Durham residents are looking at their gas receipts when considering whom to elect.
Damien and Tiara Paris, who live in Durham but commute to work in Raleigh, are among those struggling to conserve resources.
"It affects how often you go out, especially to places like Raleigh," Damien Paris said. "We really have to plan our trips so we get a lot of things done at once."
McCain has called for an end to the federal ban on offshore drilling in an effort to curb high fuel prices, a move that Obama has heavily criticized.
Duke College Republicans Chair Vikram Srinivasan, a junior, said McCain's support for offshore drilling is based on the fact that most of the country's untapped oil reserves are offshore.
"We clearly need to drill for more of our own domestic sources of oil as part of a comprehensive strategy to reduce energy dependency," Srinivasan said. He added that McCain has emphasized alternative sources of energy, especially nuclear power.
But Duke Democrats President Ben Bergmann, a sophomore, said Obama's opposition to offshore drilling is justified because oil companies already have access to enough drillable areas.
"McCain's energy plan is really like, 'just drill baby, drill,'" Bergmann said. "Sen. Obama, he really has a more holistic plan."
Some Durham residents said they were opposed to McCain's proposal because of its environmental impacts.
"I definitely am not in favor of offshore drilling," Durham resident Alison Aucoin said. "I am looking for long-term solutions, not rhetoric that sounds like solutions."
Damien Paris said he was most interested in efficiency rather than purely environmental factors-he said he is opposed to offshore drilling because it requires too much time and energy for too little results.
But others emphasized that the environmental cost would impact any debate over gas prices in Durham-and on national scale.
"I think Durham is a very eco-conscious community," Tiara Paris said. "People drive a lot, but I think people in this town and over in Chapel Hill are looking more at the big picture of energy efficiency."
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