<small>Photo: futureatlas.com</small>

Californians are buying less gasoline,  in the first continuing sales-decline trend since 1992, according to the state.  Yes, we purchased about 15.82 billion gallons last year, down from nearly 15.94 billion gallons the previous year, a state Board of Equalization report shows.

Previously, consumption had been increasing by hundreds of millions of gallons annually.

Motorists also have bought less in most of the last 12 months on record, from March 2006 to February 2007, than in the corresponding months of the previous year.  Some wild-eyed environmentalists advocate jacking up the price of gas even more to curb consumption, and these figures seem to suggest they’re at least correct about the cause-and-effect:

“In February 2007, Californians consumed 1.2 billion gallons of gasoline, about 31.6 million gallons, or 2.5 percent, less than February of last year,” said board member Judy Chu.

The average pump price in February was $2.71 a gallon, a 17-cent increase from the same month last year.

“February is the second indication of lower consumption the board has seen recently,” Chu said.