Our Gas-Guzzling Days Over?

You could chalk it up to heavy job loss during the Great Recession or simply higher prices for gasoline, but America’s gas-guzzling days are now in the rear-view mirror, experts say.

Looking down the road to 2030, Americans will burn at least 20 percent less gasoline than today, experts say, even as millions more cars hit the highways.

After seven decades of growth, U.S. gasoline demand is at the start of a long-term decline, the Associated Press reports. America is No. 1 now in gasoline consumption followed by China.

Our thirst for gasoline is shrinking as cars and trucks become more fuel-efficient, the U.S. government mandates the use of more ethanol, and consumers drive less.

“A combination of demographic change and policy change means the heady days of gasoline growing in the U.S. are over,” says Daniel Yergin, chairman of IHS Cambridge Energy Research Associates and author of a Pulitzer Prize-winning history of the oil industry.

This isn't the first time in U.S. history that gasoline demand has fallen, at least temporarily. Drivers typically cut back during recessions, then hit the road again when the economy improves.

The Great Recession – December 2007 to June 2009 – was the main reason demand fell sharply in 2008. Today, with gasoline prices averaging more than $3.15 per gallon for regular, many drivers are rethinking their habits and trips to save money.

History and habits aside, the future of U.S. gas consumption looks vastly different, with government and industry officials insisting gasoline demand has peaked for good.

It has declined four years in a row and will not reach the 2006 level again even when the economy fully recovers (which some experts, including U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, say may be years away). The decrease was on the horizon long before the recession.

The 2001 terrorist attacks, the war in Iraq, Hurricane Katrina, and pump prices rising to a nationwide average of $3 a gallon for the first time in a generation reignited public debates about the political and economic effects of oil imports and climate changes.

Also, the popularity of gas-guzzling sport utility vehicles began to wane, and the government started requiring refiners to blend corn-based ethanol into every gallon of gasoline.

Why We’re Pumped

We, at WMB, see this dramatic decrease in gasoline demand by U.S. consumers as a positive sign that Americans whatever the reason – conserving personal finances, helping the environment, increasing telecommuting options – are finding usage alternatives.

While America's diminishing demand will temper global use, it will be more than offset by rapidly growing demand in China, India, the Middle East and Africa, experts say.

As a result, declining U.S. gasoline demand will not bring lower pump prices for consumers, according to the AP.

Still, we have known since the gasoline shortages and station lines of the early 1970s that America’s dependence and growing appetite for foreign oil would ultimately lead to a dead end.

By continuing to cut our gas demand, we can move forward – financially and environmentally – even if we’re no longer king of the road.

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