Gas prices are at record highs in the Miami Valley. An expert from tech company GasBuddy told media outlets that he predicts gas in Ohio might cost $5 dollars a gallon by mid-June. In some states the price has already hit that mark.
In Ohio, the average price for a gallon of gas on Sunday, June 5 was $4.84 a gallon –and it’srising. That number is close to 40 cents more than it was a week ago.
The jump came from a European Union action last week.
The EU agreed to cut Russian oil imports by 90% by the end of 2022 as an economic sanction for the war in Ukraine.
The move will significantly reduce the global oil supply — which means higher prices at the pump here in Ohio.
But, according to a Dayton Daily News interview with Miami University professor Johnathan Wolff, another way exists to lower gas prices: decrease demand.
That's what Paul Ratajczak in Yellow Springs has done. Ratajczak drives a 50cc Honda Metropolitan scooter that takes just one gallon of gasoline–the 2022 model gets one hundred and seventeen miles per gallon according to an industry blog. When asked at a Speedway in Yellow Springs how the gas prices are affecting him:
"Not at all," Ratajczak said.
If downsizing to a scooter isn’t an option, Wolff said trading in for a more fuel efficient car is the next best thing.
Chris Welter is a reporter and corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms.
