Georgia ranks high in gas price vulnerability

Georgia placed third in the nation, with its residents spending more than 7 percent of their incomes, on fuel, according to a report released Tuesday by the Natural Resources Defense Council.

The report also shows that Georgians spent $2,369 on average in 2007 for gasoline.

The report highlights two areas: vulnerability to high oil prices and implementation by states of alternatives and solutions.

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Other states in which drivers are most at risk to high gas price increases are Mississippi, South Carolina, Louisiana, Kentucky, New Mexico, Indiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Iowa.

Drivers in Mississippi, which ranks at the top of the list, spend an average of more than 8 percent of their income on gasoline, while Connecticut drivers, the least vulnerable state, spend 3.17 percent of income on fuel.

States doing the most to promote energy-saving policies to reduce oil dependency and protect residents from oil price spikes include: California, New York, Connecticut, Washington, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Rhode Island, New Mexico, Colorado and Maryland.

"This report shows that when oil prices go up, families in some states are hit much harder than others because they are paying a greater percentage of their income at the gas pump," said Deron Lovaas, transportation policy director at Natural Resources Defense Council, in a statement. "The good news is that some states are enacting policies that give consumers vehicle and transportation choices. But more states need to do the same, and federal policymakers must follow suit by boosting fuel economy standards, supporting a firm limit on global warming pollution and investing in more efficient transportation alternatives like commuter rail."