Gas numbers

It might help, about what you may wonder, if we take a look at gasoline use in the U.S.

At this page you will see New York is #2 in LOW use. It is far less than other states. We use 293 gallons per person whereas Mass. uses 459! Our tree hugging friends in VT are 454 and the worst states are OK and Wy coming in at 615. While there are all manner of reasons for this and all manner of ways to attack the use of gas, it may be useful to get a feel for the whole picture.

A barrel results in 20 gallons of gas, plus other stuff. So, in NY we use 15 barrels per person.

The graph shows our EXPORTS in distillates. I have to figure that one out. The DOE says Latin America wanted more diesel. Still, if we are sending off so much stuff, why not sell it here? Could be simple market ease to send it off from off shore. More mystery.

Here are some numbers from DOE. The use of gasoline, in gross, from 2002 - 2007 (x 1,000). Not too bad an increase, actually, but when you are pushing the peak curve, any increase is top heavy.

2002

8,848

8,935

9,105

9,159

9,253

9,290

I can't find this year's numbers, which was the thing that sparked my interest. I was wondering if our market reacts at these prices by driving less. Any help would be well received. NPR says this year the US person has used .5% LESS gas, according to DOE numbers I didn't find. Assuming this is correct, this is good news, but still modest. The real numbers may be much higher, or, at least, I hope so.

Me, I use acetone and top oil in the gas. Try it, just don't drink it. You should get 10-20% better results, but it could be a placebo (i.e. we are more conscious of habits). I am actually looking into a bicycle and I bet part of the subconscious backdrop is driving even less than normal. Every little bit helps - vote with your wheels.

Mr. Kunstler may be right, people will start moving back to cities to drive less - not a bad thing unless you own real estate in the suburbs.

CNN has an interesting article about how cheap our gas is, from their commie world view.