Oregon Public Broadcasting

Per capita gasoline use is up in the Northwest. That reverses a long decline, according to a conservation-oriented think tank. Tom Banse has more.

The Sightline Institute in Seattle produces an annual report on gas consumption in Oregon, Idaho, Washington and British Columbia. It's based on state gas tax receipts and Federal Highway Administration figures.

Study co-author Eric de Place was surprised to see an uptick in per capita gas use in 2009 given the poor economy around here.

Eric de Place: "You see a huge decline in prices from the peaks of 2008 into 2009. So as prices came down, we think drivers reached for the pump a little more often even though their wallets were a little bit lighter than they had been."

De Place says preliminary data show the trend continuing into 2010.

The rise in gas use is very small in Oregon and Washington, larger in Idaho, and biggest of all in British Columbia.

There, de Place theorizes gas use went up because of preparations for the Winter Olympics in Vancouver and Whistler.