The Last Gas Station

The first dedicated gas station in the US was opened in 1905 in St. Louis, Missouri. Before it came to be, there weren’t any gas stations, and at one point there weren’t even any internal combustion engine vehicles. Before trains, for land travel, there were domesticated animals and people rode in wagons and carts. They also rode on some domesticated animals or walked. Of course, there were sailing ships and some boats that could be paddled, rowed, or poled. Without any motors or fuel available, naturally, there was no aviation.

In an article I wrote in 2024, there were some musings about the great loss of value internal combustion engine vehicles face in the approaching future. Part of the fun with technology is trying to predict what new technologies will take root and last or which ones will pop up and fade quickly. Internal combustion engine vehicles may be on their way out not simply because of the nature of trends, but for very good reasons. “Of course, cars, trucks, SUVS, mopeds, scooters, and motorcycles powered by fossil fuels do emit toxic air pollution that harms the planet and human health. So, there is a rather pressing urgency to get rid of them.”

Electric vehicles can be charged at home and workplaces, which is far more convenient than driving to a gas station every time a refueling is needed. Sometimes there are crimes committed at gas stations, and gas pump card readers can have skinners placed in them so criminals can get credit and debit card information. Internal combustion engine vehicle operators also can be exposed to harmful fumes at gas stations and/or spill gasoline or diesel fuel on their shoes, clothes, or hands. “As part of the study, researchers found that gas-pump handles contained high levels of adenosine triphosphate, which suggests the presence of animal and vegetable remnants as well as bacteria, yeast or mold. In short, it appears the humble gas-pump handle is the ideal breeding ground for all kinds of infections.”

EVs have the advantage here because at least 80 percent of EV charging happens at home, so EV drivers don’t have to refuel in public nearly as much.

Last year, I did an interview with the CEO of Be.EV and he mentioned that in the UK petrol stations have been on a downward trend. “The number of petrol stations in Britain has been in steady decline since the 1960s. According to the Petrol Retailers Association (PRA), there were 38,000 filling stations in 1964. That number halved between 1992 and 2010 — dropping from 18,000 to around 9,000 — and has since stabilized at roughly 8,500.”

In the US, California is the state with the most electric vehicles. The Golden State already has more EV charging ports than gas nozzles. Gas stations in California also face some pressure from those who advocate for them to go away. “California is at the forefront of the movement to ban new gas stations. Many of the bans have come about thanks to grassroots activism from groups like Wassef’s and the Coalition Opposing New Gas Stations (CONGAS) in Sonoma County. In 2021, Petaluma, California, became the first US city to prohibit the construction of new gas stations. The effort complemented the state’s move to phase out the sale of gas-powered cars by 2035.”

What about the people who work at gas stations?

Gas station employees sometimes are exposed to harmful fumes and exhaust. “Among the chemical risk factors, benzene is the most harmful to gas station workers. Automobiles are thought to be the primary source of benzene because they are associated with gasoline fumes, gas stations, and gas emissions. Benzene is a colourless, volatile, soluble, flammable liquid with a high carcinogenic potential that poses a considerable danger to human health even at small doses [18]. Benzene is associated with gasoline and vehicle exhaust emissions, which permeate gas stations, and workers are inevitably exposed to them in the course of their work [19].

“The World Health Organisation has identified benzene as a strong carcinogen. Workers chronically exposed to organic solvents especially benzene can develop various health conditions such as immune [20], endocrine [21] and haematological conditions [22, 23], hepatic and renal dysfunctions [23, 24], visual disorders [25], and peripheral auditory disorders [26]. In addition to their physiological effects, organic solvents have toxic effects on the central nervous system. Evidence shows that the brain is susceptible to organic solvents, which can cause serious changes in neural development and ultimately lead to cognitive deficits [27–30].”

Some people say fossil fuels are “good for the economy” while having very little to no awareness about how much damage they have done to human health and the planet.

Have you noticed any gas station closures near you, and can you predict which might be the last gas station nearest your home?