By David Brooks
THE CONCORD MONITOR
American drivers burned through a lot less gasoline in the first half of this year compared to last year and the decline was steeper in New Hampshire than in almost any other state.
According to data from the Federal Highway Administration and U.S. Energy Information Administration, as compiled by a site called QuoteWizard.com, New Hampshire used 1.33 million gallons of gasoline so far this year compared to 1.53 million at this point in 2021.
That 13% decline is the third-biggest drop of any state, beaten only by Vermont (19%) and Minnesota (15%). Massachusetts’s gas usage fell 6% and Maine’s fell 11%.
Nationally, gasoline usage fell by 4% from year to year. It actually rose a few percentage points in a few states, including Florida and Illinois, while North Dakota saw a whopping 32% increase, which is so unlikely that it implies some change in measurement metrics.
The pullback in usage is spurred by the sharply rising cost of gasoline due to pandemic-related craziness in markets and constraints from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as well as near-record profits recorded by many oil companies.
New Hampshire is in the middle of the pack as far as gas-guzzling goes: We used 282 gallons per driver last year. That figure is highly dependent on geography – large, sparsely populated states like Montana and Wyoming use far more gasoline. But geography isn’t everything: Little Rhode Island is the third most gas-guzzling, at 384 gallons per driver.
These articles are being shared by partners in The Granite State News Collaborative. For more information visit collaborativenh.org.
As your daily newspaper, we are committed to providing you with important local news coverage for Sullivan County and the surrounding areas.