Search our Article Directory:

Home | Finance | Personal Finance


Americans Taking The Bus Or Bicycle As Gasoline Prices Rise

By: GARKO

U.S. drivers are doing something they haven’t done for nearly two decades — consume less gas.
fuel consumption so far this year is down about 0.2 percent compared to last year, according to the Energy Information Administration. The federal agency is predicting that fuel demand will be down 0.4 percent this summer and 0.3 percent for the year.
I know that is a small percentage but it adds up to a tremendous amount of oil and it would be the first time in the last SEVENTEEN years that there was any annual decline at all. And it would be only the eighth year since 1951 in which demand for fuel has declined.
The federal government noted that the decline was occurring in part because of a slowing economy. But it also said that higher fuel prices were having an effect on demand.
According to AAA, the national average on Monday for a gallon of fuel was $3.50 a gallon, or 64 cents higher than a year ago. Diesel was $4.20 per gallon, or $1.27 higher than a year ago.
What is in question is at what price per gallon will American drivers demonstrate a stronger decrease in demand. Some say that it would happen when the price of fuel stays above $3 for some period of months. But right here in Southern California I am seeing fuel prices above $4 so we may very soon hit that critical mass point.
Verne Covell of Smithville counts himself as one who’s had enough. Now retired, Covell bought a pickup and travel trailer when he retired in 2000. Long trips with his wife to places like Canada were common. This year, however, there will be at most a trip to south Missouri. The trailer may even stay in storage for the entire year because of fuel prices.“We’re getting on and you don’t know how long you have,” he said. “But this year we decided it just got too expensive.”
Mainly because of the December drop, the Federal Highway Administration said it was estimating that miles traveled for all of 2007 were down 0.4 percent.
There is already a shift in demand from fuel guzzline SUVs towards higher MPG vehicles.
The government today plans to release a proposal to raise fuel efficiency standards for new cars and trucks, putting the nation’s fleet on track to reach 35 miles per gallon by 2020.
At the present time, newly manufactured vehicles in America are required to maintain at least a 27.5 MPG average and SUVs, trucks and vans are required to measure up to a 22.5 MPG minimum average.
Democrats have said the new fuel economy requirements will save motorists $700 to $1,000 a year in fuel costs.
While this has been going on many house owners have been living in tents and many car owners have taken to public transport. The increase in people taking busses across the country last year was 4% and this year, so far, it is at 9%.
A decline in fuel demand could help give some relief from high prices. Although prices are surging as the traditional summer driving season approaches, some market followers expect prices to ease back later this summer.
So the question is a very simple one. Do people need to ride the bus and bicycles or simply sit at home and watch television or plot the revolution on the internet or do other things on the internet instead of living their lives in the real world? Or is there something else that they can do to offset rising fuel costs?
There sure is and it is called Water4Gas

Article Source: http://www.articlekingpro.com

Get all there is to know about how to save up to 35% or more at the gas pump by making your car run on water

Please Rate this Article

 

Not yet Rated

Click the XML Icon Above to Receive Personal Finance Articles Via RSS!
Additional Articles From - Home | Finance | Personal Finance
Sign Up for a free Article King Pro account or learn more.
Submit Articles
Member Login
Top Authors
Most Popular Articles
Submission Guidelines
Ezine Notifications
Article RSS Feeds
About Us
Link to Us
Contact Us
Copyright & DMCA
Privacy Policy
Terms of Service


Most Recent Articles

Powered by Article Dashboard