Seen in the Boston Globe:
Average daily gasoline consumption in the United States has decreased in each of the past four weeks from a year ago, according to recent data. In the past six months, average daily consumption slipped two-tenths of a percent from a year earlier, after growing 2.5 percent in the previous year.[...]
Towle, 44, now limits herself to one fill-up a week. She puts off buying more milk until she needs a bigger shopping trip. She used to drop her 13-year-old daughter off at basketball practice, make the 15-minute drive back home, then return to pick her up at the end of the 90-minute session. Now, she waits at the school.
Several years ago, her husband, Richard, restored a 1972 Porsche, keeping it off the road in winter. But now he is driving the Porsche because it gets 30 miles per gallon, 10 better than his van.
This actually touches upon part of my preference that tax holidays not be granted when it comes to gas purchases. While the pain at the pump is unpleasant, for years we’ve known that we are horrifically wasteful when it comes to energy consumption.
If high prices are what it takes for average Americans to finally become receptive to the gospel of conservation and efficiency…well, so be it.