Mainers greet gas boycott with shrugs Protest of high prices slated for today but few can afford to take part

BANGOR – An unknown e-mail writer has declared today “Stick It To Them Day,” a one-day gas boycott aimed at oil companies to protest rising prices.

But some Maine drivers view the suggestion as unworkable.

Within the last week, the nationally circulated e-mail has generated conversation but may not have drummed up support, primarily because drivers have read similar requests at least twice in the last few years – every time gas prices have been on the rise.

According to the Energy Information Administration, a policy-neutral branch of the federal Department of Energy, not even “a blip” in consumption numbers has occurred on previous gas-out days.

On any given day, Americans buy 378 million gallons of gas, said John Cogan, energy information specialist at EIA in Washington, D.C.

The e-mail suggests that if every driver in the United States does not buy a drop of gasoline today, “the oil companies would choke on their stockpiles.”

“At the same time, it would hit the entire industry with a net loss of over $4.6 billion, which affects the bottom lines of the oil companies,” according to the e-mail.

However, in a state as rural as Maine, where most drivers have to commute more than 10 miles to work each day, it’s unlikely that every motorist will avoid a gas station today.

“Much of the driving that people do is not discretionary or optional,” said Cogan, noting that people travel to work, school or to get groceries. “Therefore they have to dig a little bit deeper into their pockets. It’s hard to adjust driving in the long run and it’s hard to adjust vehicles in the short run.”

If anyone loses out from today’s boycott, it could be independent gas station owners who make their money from drivers who not only buy gas, but walk into the station to buy coffee or snacks, Cogan said.

On Tuesday, the average price for regular unleaded gasoline statewide was $2.00 per gallon, according to AAA-Maine, and in Bangor it was $2.03 per gallon.

Since Sunday, prices have gone up at least 8 cents per gallon, adding to consumer frustration and shattering records throughout the country, except in Michigan.

“Forty-nine of the 50 states [Tuesday] have broken their all-time record highs,” said Rene Letourneau, spokeswoman for AAA-Maine in Portland.

In New England, the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline in 2002 was $1.38, according to EIA.

For John Johnston, an insurance adjuster from Bangor, premium gasoline is costing him $14 more per tank than it did just a couple of months ago. But he’s not going to stop driving. On Monday, he clocked 460 miles on two tankfuls.

Johnston said he doesn’t believe today’s boycott is going to work because drivers then would visit the gas stations on Thursday.

“[The e-mail is] coming from people who don’t know the oil markets,” he said. “The real question to ask is when was the last refinery built in the United States. People are grabbing onto the wrong things again.”

Christy Cunningham of Orrington said she is one of those drivers who does not take leisurely trips in her vehicle. That’s because rising gas prices are devouring her weekly paycheck.

Cunningham, a junior at John Bapst High School in Bangor and a part-time worker at CVS, said she fills her tank at Sam’s Club near the Bangor Mall because “it’s better than any other place.”

But even with the lower prices, about 5 cents below other local stations for Sam’s Club members, the $1.98 per gallon price for regular unleaded still hurts.

“It takes a lot of my money,” she said.

At Sam’s Club, Tammy Davis filled up her 2002 Jeep – “my gas guzzler” – on Tuesday because she heard about today’s boycott “and that’s why I’m gassing up.”

Rising gas prices, she said, will not stop her from driving. She’ll just cut back elsewhere in her budget.

“I would continue to drive no matter what,” Davis said.

So would Johnston.

“It does impact me, but it’s still cheaper than bottled water,” he said. “The gasoline thing, yeah, it affects me. But it’s not terminal. I’m not not going to eat.”