New Carbon Tax in California Does Not Slow Gas Price Drop
A new carbon tax on gasoline in California aimed to encourage fewer emissions that went into effect January 1 was expected to increase gasoline prices by around 10 to 12 cents potentially halting the six month free fall in fuel prices in the Golden State. But that did not happen despite a blip in price for a few days. Figures from Gas Buddy slow the average price in the state did rise after the 2nd of this month for few days by around 3 cents. But by this week (Jan 10) the average price is down to $2.61 per gallon – lower than it was on January 1. Todays lowest station price statewide is $2.14 a gallon.
Wet December Followed by Bone Dry January So Far
Hope for wetter days ahead
A wet December in California – over 200% of average in many locations – greened the hills of the Golden State but has been followed by several weeks of little or no rain in 2015.
Forecasters looking ahead say there is hope that after the Martin Luther King holiday storms could return to the state.One forecast says expect rain events in southern California and northern California but not much in the middle.( see map)
On the hopeful side the state’s top reservoir Shasta – increased its storage by near 100% over the past 6 weeks .The northern California precip index stands at 112% of average today says the state but in the Valley the average is around 60%.
Farmers Leary Of More Dry Weather
Experts say California farmers lost $2B in 2014 – – A new study by the UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences estimates some stunning losses to California agriculture last year, and indicates losses in 2015 could be even worse if drought conditions do not improve. “We estimated about $2 billion, $2.2 billion worth of damage, economic damage to the State of California. About 17,000 jobs were lost, just in agriculture,” Watershed Sciences Director Jay Lund, Ph.D., said. Lund said recent rainfall and snow have helped, but the state needs more major storms to slow another year of losses.