Which States Suffer When Gas Prices Rise?

On the heels of my post about gas prices and rural America, here's a map showing how much people would be spending on gas if prices spiked to 2008 levels again:

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The folks at the Wonk Room point out an interesting association:

Unfortunately for their citizens, these most vulnerable states are largely represented by senators with deep ties to the oil industry who dismiss the threat of global warming: Republicans Jim Inhofe and Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, Republicans Thad Cochran and Roger Wicker of Mississippi, and Democrat Mary Landrieu and Republican David Vitter of Louisiana.

While those ties to the oil industry help keep the price of gas cheaper (for now) they don't do much about the long-term problem of our dependence on foreign oil. You can download a copy of the full NRDC report this map comes from here (pdf).