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This Just In...
Kevin Fischer is an award-winning veteran broadcaster who has been seen and heard on Milwaukee TV and radio stations for nearly three decades.
Kevin, who is a legislative aide to state Sen. Mary Lazich (R-New Berlin), can be seen offering his views on the news on the public affairs program, “INTERchange,” on Milwaukee Public Television Channel 10. He lives with his wife, Jennifer, in Franklin.
When it comes to gas, have we hit the boiling point?
By Kevin Fischer
Monday, Feb 25 2008, 08:48 PM
I remember last summer, filling in for Mark Belling on WISN.
Yet another story about gas prices going up.
Yet another story about a nation’s frustration.
Would American motorists park their cars in their garages and close the doors?
No way.
As mad as we were, no way were we going to drive less.
Have we hit the breaking point?
The Boston Globe says yes.
From their newspaper:
“Gasoline prices have risen so high and stayed high for so long, that Americans are finally doing what once seemed unthinkable: driving less.
Inveterate drivers are carpooling, combining errands to eliminate trips, trying mass transit, and even walking. As a result, gasoline consumption, which grew steadily in recent years as prices passed $2, $2.50, and $3 a gallon, has flattened and even declined, according to the US Energy Department.
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.
Since crude oil began its run to $100 a barrel, average gasoline prices have soared from less than $1.50 a gallon in January 2003 to $3.12 on Friday, according to the American Automobile Association. Still, gasoline demand grew steadily through much of this period, sometimes falling when prices spiked, such as after Hurricane Katrina, but then rebounding.
But with prices lingering near or above $3 a gallon and with economists expecting them to stay there, consumers are changing behavior, analysts said. Demand appears to have plateaued, with consumption holding flat or slipping over the past several months, compared to the previous year.
"People don't see gas prices going back to $2 a gallon," said Juan Pablo Fuentes, energy economist at Moody's Economy.com in West Chester, Pa. "They're making long-term decisions, like switching from big cars to smaller cars."
Sales of compact cars rose 10 percent in the last two years, while combined sales of large cars and sport utility vehicles fell 7 percent, according to Edmunds.com, an automotive consumer website.”
CFSW HAS WORKED HARD TO PROTECT YOUR FAMILY- NOW IT'S TIME TO SAY THANK YOU !
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