A new report from the National Resources Defense Council highlights the absolute cost of our dependence on oil. In Minnesota, the average driver in 2008 spent $2,354 a year, or 5.5 percent, of their income on gasoline, which was 25th in the country. Drivers in Mississippi spent the highest percentage of their income - 9.14 percent - while those in Connecticut spent the lowest at 3.24 percent. While gasoline topped more than $4 a gallon in July of 2008, these data are based on the average cost of gasoline in 2008, which was $2.77 a gallon (or 10 cents a gallon less than the U.S. average right now).

It's easy to see how the jump to $4 a gallon played a role in our economic recession and how future increases in gas prices will leave our economy struggling to keep up if we cannot make changes. At $4 a gallon, the average Minnesota driver would spend nearly 8 percent of their income just on gasoline! And while people did drive about 4 percent less when gas prices were higher, most people do not have the transportation options to adjust to rising prices without simply taking it out of day-to-day expenditures elsewhere. This is especially true in rural areas, where choices are even fewer and distances are farther.