Although US gasoline use was a record this year, Rob Haworth, senior investment strategist at US Bank Wealth Management, said it still wasn't enough to draw down inventories.
SB 350, by Senate leader Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles), would require us, by 2030, to generate half our energy from renewable sources, cut gasoline use in half and double the energy efficiency of older buildings.
A gasoline tax would greatly reduce gasoline use.
Since 1990, for example, per capita gasoline use has fallen in many states.
That would have equaled roughly 0.2 percent of the nation's annual gasoline use, a small but measurable amount.
But close monitoring of mileage and gasoline use will deter unauthorized use and identify any misuse, she said.
Analysts say the decline in gasoline use may have bottomed out, barring a further big downturn in the economy.
Rising fuel costs are starting to burn some small businesses, and Mike Shedlock reports another plunge in the three-month rolling average of petroleum and gasoline use.
The nation's oil consumption has since fallen by about three million barrels a day as consumers cut back on their gasoline use.
Instead of penalizing gasoline use, however, the Obama administration chose a familiar and politically easier path: raising fuel-efficiency standards for cars and light trucks.
And when it comes to gasoline use, social values about driving are already changing in an environment-saving direction, especially among young people.
