The big crunch can be measured in little ways. Jorge Carmona knows.

Earlier this week, the Austell commercial painter noticed that his sprayer was nearly out of fuel. Well, it was time for lunch anyway. Carmona grabbed his red gas can and left the job on Peachtree Road in Buckhead.

He stopped his van outside the Chevron at Peachtree Road and Peachtree Hills. He didn't even look at the sign that advertised a dubious breakthrough in Atlanta gas prices: Regular unleaded, $4.09 per gallon.

The station was one of the first in the metro area to break the $4 mark, a threshold other cities around the country have already crossed.

Eight dollars later, he had almost two gallons of gas —- enough, he figured, to get him through the day.

"Used to be, $10 [of gas] was enough for a week" of using the sprayer, he said. "But what can you do?"

He frowned at the gas can, not half full. "What makes it cost so much?" he asked.

The answer, according to the American Petroleum Institute, which represents all aspects of the American petroleum and natural gas industry, is that most basic of economic axioms.

"Supply just does not match demand right now," said Rayola Dougher, an API senior economic adviser. "Everyone is paying more."

Here are some numbers to illustrate why Carmona and others are scowling at the pumps.

70 cents: According to API, 70 percent of every dollar spent on gas these days pays for the crude oil.

17 cents: That's the amount that refiners and distributors spend to turn the stuff into gasoline and get it delivered.

13 cents: States on average pocket that in the form of taxes. (In Georgia, it's 7.5 cents.)

So, at $4 per gallon, the numbers become:

$2.80 for the per-gallon price of crude oil.

68 cents for refining and distilling.

52 cents for taxes.

And, a final word from Carmona:

"Nothing."

That's his assessment of what we can do to lower gas prices.

Source: American Petroleum Institute

 CHARLES W. JONES / Staff
A $4 COCKTAIL 
That stiff drink for your car is a mix of distillation, delivery and governmental costs. A breakdown of how $1 is spent: 
70(cents): Amount spent for crude oil
17(cents): Amount spent to turn crude oil into gasoline and get it delivered
13(cents): National average that governments pocket in the form of taxes (In Georgia, it's 7.5 cents) 

Pie graph illustrates: 
70(cents): Crude
17(cents): Conversion 
13(cents): Tax 

So, at $4 per gallon, the numbers become: 
$2.80 for the per-gallon price of crude oil
68(cents) for refining and distilling 
52(cents) for taxes

Graphic includes an image of a fuel hose.
Source: American Petroleum Institute