Image: Svadilfari

But what about gas prices? Today the NYTimes reports that oil prices have fallen below the $70 mark for the first time in 16 months. With the markets spiraling downwards, I doubt that many people have looked at the price of oil recently, but it has been on a steady slide since it reached its peak of $145 this summer.

I’m sure most of you remember watching oil prices carefully at the time, what with gas prices soaring to over $4/gallon nationwide and many people cutting back on driving or learning how to ecodrive. However, what you might not be noticing is a fall in the price of gasoline that corresponds to the radical decrease in the price of crude. Oil has fallen because consumption looks to be lower in the future due to the current crisis and possibility of economic recession.

While the Times talks about how these rapid swings in crude oil prices could destabilize the world energy markets, what they do not talk about is how these lower oil prices will affect consumers at the pump. I’m not a fan of cheap gas from an environmentalist perspective, but it’s hard not to notice that the price of gas in my area has only dropped about 50 cents (~13%) in the same period that the price of crude oil has dropped more than %50.

Is this more evidence of price gouging or do you think something bigger is going on? If so, what? Let’s here what you think in the comments.

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Earlier I talked about how March represented a dramatic drop in vehicle miles traveled, but that’s nothing compared to a recent report stating that Americans have cut back 30 billion miles over the last six months. The drop was measured between November 2007 – April 2008, and compared to the same period from a year ago. Overall the drop was only 1%, but compared to an annual increase of 1-2%, the difference from the norm is actually a bit bigger.

The drop is the largest it’s been since the fuel crisis of 1979-1980, and with fuel prices looking to stay high, may represent a permanent change in the way Americans think about travel. Here’s what USA Today has to say about the difference between now and the last fuel crisis (which I wasn’t alive for!):

“It’s not a blip,” said Marilyn Brown, professor of energy policy at Georgia Tech, citing data showing surging transit ridership, dropping sales of sport-utility vehicles and sharply increased demand for gas-efficient vehicles. “I think the difference between now and 1979, when prices were comparable when you adjust for inflation, is there’s a sense of sustained pain. There’s a sense that the era of cheap energy is a thing of the past.”

This comes amid a flurry of TV, magazine, and newspaper stories about people hopping on the bike, moving closer to work, and dumping their gas-guzzling trucks and SUVs at any cost. My experience with change in the US would suggest that the news is exaggerating the reality of the situation, but these new, hard numbers suggest that isn’t the case at all. Even though some aren’t changing their habits at all, enough are doing it to make the largest drop we’ve seen in decades.

Do you think it’ll last?

Image: mattlemmom

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As gas gets more and more expensive and drivers become more and more afraid of trips to the pumps, more people than ever have found themselves stranded on the side of the road with no gas in the tank. Trying to push it way past “E” is something I’m familiar with, but after hearing about this, perhaps I’ll be a little more careful.

According to the AP, there is a growing national trend of drivers putting less gas in their cars and then trying to drive as far as they can. Getting better gas mileage is definitely worth doing, but you’re going to get the same mileage whether you fill up all at once or in thirds…and running out of gas isn’t exactly the quickest way to get somewhere.

In Philadelphia (my hometown) alone, calls to AAA from drivers in need of some extra gas have doubled since 2007, a trend that they say is mirrored all across the country. Over the entire Mid-Atlantic region, AAA fuel calls have only increased 15%, but the summer driving months are just starting to settle in, and that number will likely increase in the coming months.

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