Massachusetts
Massachusetts Drivers Burned More Gasoline in 2023, Frustrating Governor Healey's Climate Policies – Streetsblog Massachusetts
In a frustrating setback to the Commonwealth’s climate goals, Massachusetts drivers incinerated 24 million more gallons of gasoline in 2023 than they did in 2022, according to state tax collection data.
That represents the third consecutive year of rising gasoline consumption in the Commonwealth since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The trend undermines the state’s climate strategy, which calls for fossil fuel use to converge quickly toward zero in the next two decades.
Fuel tax collection data indicate rising emissions from cars and trucks
Data for the Commonwealth’s gasoline consumption can be inferred from the Department of Revenue’s Blue Book reports, which provide detailed information about monthly collections from the state’s fuel tax.
Those reports show that Massachusetts collected $612 million in fuel taxes in calendar year 2023. At a tax rate of 24 cents per gallon, that implies that Massachusetts drivers bought and burned 2.55 billion gallons of gasoline last year.
To put that number in perspective, imagine replacing all the water in Walden Pond with gasoline, and setting it on fire – and doing it again every four months.*
When burned, each gallon of gasoline generates 8.89 kilograms of carbon dioxide in the exhaust from cars and trucks, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. So the 2.55 billion gallons of gasoline that Massachusetts drivers bought and burned in 2023 generated 22.68 million metric tons of greenhouse gases – roughly one-third of the climate-heating emissions from the entire Massachusetts economy.
Pollution remains below pre-pandemic levels — for now
The state’s tax revenue data show that gasoline consumption dipped considerably in 2020, as millions of Massachusetts residents dramatically curtailed their travel during the Covid-19 pandemic.
And although consumption has been rising steadily since then, gasoline consumption does still remain below pre-pandemic levels. Statewide gasoline consumption in 2023 was almost 9 percent, or 245 million gallons, less than it was in 2019.
Transportation generates more air pollution in general, and climate pollution in particular, than any other sector of the Massachusetts economy.
And while other sectors, like buildings and electric power plants, are becoming more efficient over time by using less energy and transitioning to cleaner sources of power, the fuel tax data show that the Massachusetts transportation sector has been stubbornly resistant to making similar progress.
Under the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2008 and the “climate roadmap” law of 2021, the transportation sector will to reverse these trends relatively quickly, and dramatically.
Fuel tax revenues not keeping pace with funding needs
At the same time, the fuel tax remains a major source of funding for new transportation investments across the Commonwealth – but the growth in fuel tax revenue isn’t anywhere close to keeping pace with the state’s infrastructure investment needs.
The $612 million that Massachusetts collected in fuel tax revenue in 2023 was only a one percent increase over the $607 million the state collected in 2022.
Meanwhile, the inflation rate between mid-2022 and mid-2023 was about 3 percent.
So even though Bay State residents are burning more gasoline, the true, inflation-adjusted value of fuel tax collections is actually going down – making less money available for cleaner transportation projects and programs.
* Walden Pond contains an estimated 3.2 million cubic meters of water, according to “Geohydrology and Limnology of Walden Pond, Concord,
Massachusetts” by John A. Colman and Paul J. Friesz (2001), which is equivalent to about 845.4 million gallons – about one-third the volume of the Commonwealth’s annual gasoline consumption.
Yankee Candle is a staple in the Bay State, famous for its colorful jars full of fragrance and warm light.
And while its candles can essentially be bought from anywhere, the mothership of the iconic candles lies in South Deerfield at Yankee Candle Village.
The flagship store, known for its ginormous collection of Yankee Candle scents and retail goods, is a winter holiday destination for those in New England.
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Leading up to Christmas, the store turns into a complete holiday stop.
Now on prominent display are the brand’s many different winter scents, including such classics as Red Apple Wreath and Balsam & Cedar, and such holiday scents as Christmas Cookie and North Pole Greetings.
Bavarian Christmas Village, arguably the most festive room in Yankee Candle Village, is Christmas all year. Guests will stroll through an enchanted forest featuring a 25-foot-tall Christmas tree, nutcrackers, winter village displays and even indoor snow that falls every 4 minutes.
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But scattered throughout the flagship store are hints of Christmas and a winter wonderland — from the home section filled with holiday kitchen decor to the Toy Shop filled with jolly trinkets.
Santa even pays a visit to the Yankee Candle Village, hosting a storytime with kids every Monday through Thursday at 11:30 a.m.
And if the shopping and holiday joy become overwhelming, the store even has cafes that offer a bite to eat. Guests can also indulge in sweet treats in its candy store or try freshly made fudge.
Yankee Candle Village is located at 25 Greenfield Road in South Deerfield. It is open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
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It swims in the family.
A mother and calf wandered off the beaten path and got stranded in a Massachusetts marsh, forcing an emergency mammal rescue crew to save the wayward dolphin pair.
On Dec. 8, the Wareham Department of Natural Resources responded to a report of two stranded dolphins in the area of Beaverdam Creek off of the Weweantic River, a 17-mile tributary that drains into Buzzards Bay, which directly connects to the Atlantic Ocean.
When crews arrived, two common dolphins were located alive and active, but partially out of the water stranded in the marsh, according to the Wareham Department of Natural Resources.
Responding authorities alerted the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) Marine Mammal Stranding Response Team, based in Cape Cod.
IFAW team members put the dolphins on stretchers and brought them to safety, where they conducted preliminary tests on the wayward dolphins.
“Our teams were easily able to extract the animals and transport them via our custom-built rescue vehicle,” Stacey Hedman, senior director of communications for IFAW, said.
The dolphins were weighed; the smaller of the two weighed approximately 90 lbs, and the larger mammal around 150 lbs.
Upon further analysis, it was revealed that the dolphins were an adult female and a socially-dependent juvenile female, a mother and calf pair.
According to Hedman, IFAW had some concerns over the mother’s decreased responsiveness and abnormal blood work, though it was deemed the pair was healthy enough to release back into the ocean at West Dennis Beach in Dennis, Mass.
“By releasing them into an area with many other dolphins around, this would hopefully increase their chances of socialization and survival. Both animals have satellite tags that are still successfully tracking,” Hedman said.
A 19-year-old Massachusetts man was seriously injured after he was thrown from a moving vehicle he had grabbed onto during a domestic dispute Thursday morning.
Duxbury police said they responded to a report of an injured male who might have been struck by a vehicle on Chandler Street around 5:22 a.m. and found a 19-year-old Pembroke man lying in the roadway with serious injuries.
Through interviews with witnesses, officers learned that the man had gone to his ex-girlfriend’s residence on Chandler Street to confront her current boyfriend. An altercation ensued, during which police said the 19-year-old appears to have jumped on the hood of a vehicle and was then thrown from the moving vehicle.
The incident remains under investigation, police said. At this time, they said no charges have been filed.
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