By Chris Taylor
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wkms/local-wkms-894193.mp3
Calvert City, KY – While the average price for gasoline in Kentucky dropped by about a dime this week, a new report ranks the Commonwealth as the sixth most vulnerable state in the nation to gas price shock. That's when the price of oil spikes to extreme highs like those seen during the summer of 2008.
Kara Wagoner lives in Marion but works at a bank in Calvert City. She travels about 30 miles each way on her daily commute. She estimates spending about two hundred dollars a month on gas alone.
Wagoner- Something I have to do every five days. Right now, it's just gotten to be a habit. It's a routine and I dread how much money I'm going to spend every week in gas.
Kara spends almost 9% of her income just to get to work. She doesn't eat out often or drive much anywhere else. Like many other Kentucky commuters, she is extremely vulnerable to gas prices. A report commissioned by the Natural Resources Defense Council, a national environmental lobby finds the average Kentuckian last year spent over five percent of their incomes at the pump. That comes to shelling out nearly $1,600 a year. For Kara, it's more like $2,400, but that's nothing compared to the summer of 2008 when prices peaked at over $4 a gallon.
Wagoner- It was just depressing. I remember one time I looked at the sign on the gas station and I was like 'Oh my goodness!' I almost had tears in my eyes. I put $69 of gas in my car and I remember thinking, this is only going to last me four days?
Kara was commuting over a hundred miles a day to Murray State from Crittenden County then.
Wagoner- My very last semester there, I don't think I could have went anymore. I was at my whit's end. I couldn't pay anymore in gas. I was ready to just get a job.
The report also finds that if oil prices spike like that again, people like Kara could end up paying closer to 14% of her paycheck and average Kentuckians would pay about what she does now. Analyst and report author Elizabeth Hogan says the biggest thing state leaders can do to mitigate this vulnerability is to distribute funding towards alternatives to the use of individual vehicles.
Hogan- Policies that would encourage: carpooling, spending more money on public transit, putting more money into city buses/intercity buses. Obviously, the development of something like a light-rail system or a subway system is something that would require many years and cost quite a bit of money, but that kind of development and infrastructure would definitely be a valuable investment for the long-term.
Kentucky Energy Efficiency and Conservation Director Greg Guess says the Commonwealth may rank low on the list because residents tend to commute further distances and a majority choose to drive larger vehicles like trucks and SUVs over lighter and more energy-efficient types or models.
Guess- Also we've had, up until recent years at least, our gasoline taxes have been relatively lower than other states, so the price of gasoline tended to be a little bit lower and that of course always tends to increase consumption somewhat.
Guess says Kentucky has a number of initiatives that promote alternatives to gasoline. From a policy standpoint, Guess says the Commonwealth uses tax incentives for companies to create and blend biofuels hoping they will become more available to consumers. So far, two plants are operating in Kentucky: one creates ethanol and another produces biodiesel.
Guess- Tax incentives are a big part of that measure and then just educating consumers to buy vehicles that are capable of dual-fuel operation. So that when those fuels are more widely available on the marketplace, consumers can take advantage of those.
Guess says the Commonwealth partners with Louisville-based Kentucky Clean Fuels Coalition to promote using gasoline alternatives. However, he also adds persuading change is oftentimes a tough proposition.
Guess- State government is very limited in terms of what it can do to influence how gasoline prices are going to impact individuals. Individuals have much more control over that.
Kentucky does promote rideshare and carpooling initiatives, like the online bulletin board eRideShare.com. Though those programs only seem to be popular in the heavier populated Louisville and Lexington areas. Guess explains many western Kentuckians may simply just not be aware of these consumption reducing options. Though, Kara Wagoner doesn't carpool and her job is much too far away to bike, she has taken at least one step toward better fuel efficiency.
Wagoner- I traded cars. I went from the '99 Mercury Cougar, and it had a V-6 in it and I went to a 4-cylinder car and that was basically to get better gas mileage.
Kara says her Pontiac G6 gets about 28 miles per gallon and she hopes gas prices will remain around the $2 mark. Many experts predict prices will continue to rise this month before peaking to around $3 a gallon over the Memorial Day weekend.