First the ATL was running out of water, Now..it's Gas

[BERIGAN]

We didn't panic like everyone else...stupid us! Saw idiots in NC filling up milk jugs with gas! And now, if I want gas, I have to go out at 4 AM. And there still are only a couple of stations that have any that early. Low sulfur

fuel is an issue here as well....Bad til Columbus day AAA says...

CNN) -- Gas shortages are afflicting drivers across the Southeast. Some of the problems were caused by Hurricane Ike affecting oil production and refining along the Gulf Coast, but empty gas pumps also are being blamed on the consumers themselves.

A sign breaks the bad news to motorists that there's no gas available at a filling station in Nashville, Tennessee.

CNN affiliates are reporting on the effects of the shortages that have caused many gas stations to shut down and many drivers to become frustrated.

Asheville, North Carolina

City officials in Asheville have closed the civic center, parks and offices because of the gas shortage, CNN affiliate WHNS-TV reports.

Police also are monitoring stations that do have gas after reports of fights at pumps between drivers accusing each other of cutting in line.

"It's been a nightmare for everybody," one driver, who found gas Thursday, told the station. Read WHNS report on how the shortage is affecting North Carolina

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/US/09/26/gas.s...ndup/index.html

[DTMX]

Testify, bro. I had a family reunion yesterday and only half the people showed up. The rest were conserving their gasoline to save it for the work week ahead. I was running errands on Buford Highway and the Quick Trip at Buford and Clairmont had cars backed for a mile on both streets. Now that I think of it, every set of blue lights I saw on Saturday was a policeman directing traffic or trying to maintain order at a gas station. The yuppie corridor up and down GA 400 is bone dry; I see a few cars a day that have been abandoned (Mercedes, not beaters). A friend of mine from Croatia said that even during the worst days of the war, they still had gasoline at the pumps.

[Joe G]

Next.... food.

[Rooster_Ties]

If that ever happens around here, we've already got one of these (about 40 to 45 mpg, sometimes even closer to 50)...

And the office where my wife works is on the same bus-line that runs right past our house.

And within 2-3 years, I hope to have replaced our '93 Honda Accord sedan with an all-electric "Smart Car"-sized vehicle...

Edited September 29, 2008 by Rooster_Ties

[Christiern]

So, for once, everything isn't peachy in Atlanta!

[Aggie87]

If that ever happens around here, we've already got one of these (about 40 to 45 mpg, sometimes even closer to 50)...

And the office where my wife works is on the same bus-line that runs right past our house.

And within 2-3 years, I hope to have replaced our '93 Honda Accord sedan with an all-electric "Smart Car"-sized vehicle...

Definitely not a "Smart" car for the highway. If you are ever in an accident you will be in trouble.

Those cars may be fine as city commuter type cars, where speeds never go above 45-50 mph or something. They are common in Germany, but I rarely if ever saw them on the Autobahns, usually only in the cities.

[Rooster_Ties]

Definitely not a "Smart" car for the highway. If you are ever in an accident you will be in trouble.

Probably 90% of the day-to-day driving in our household is non-highway (both my commute, and my wife's too). Maybe even closer to 95%.

[BERIGAN]

Testify, bro. I had a family reunion yesterday and only half the people showed up. The rest were conserving their gasoline to save it for the work week ahead. I was running errands on Buford Highway and the Quick Trip at Buford and Clairmont had cars backed for a mile on both streets. Now that I think of it, every set of blue lights I saw on Saturday was a policeman directing traffic or trying to maintain order at a gas station. The yuppie corridor up and down GA 400 is bone dry; I see a few cars a day that have been abandoned (Mercedes, not beaters). A friend of mine from Croatia said that even during the worst days of the war, they still had gasoline at the pumps.

Man, that sucks about the reunion. And that's amazing that Croatia never ran out of fuel!

[Jazzmoose]

We didn't panic like everyone else...stupid us! Saw idiots in NC filling up milk jugs with gas!

I've seen that before; it's fun to watch. Particularly their eyes when the container starts melting in their back seat...

[Guy Berger]

I don't understand why gas stations don't hike prices to $5 or $6 per gallon or whatever to solve this problem... I had to wait in line for an hour to fill up on Sunday. Fortunately I can walk to most places and don't drive much, otherwise this would be a serious drag.

Guy

[Jazzmoose]

I don't understand why gas stations don't hike prices to $5 or $6 per gallon or whatever to solve this problem...

Two words: lynch mobs.

[Free For All]

And within 2-3 years, I hope to have replaced our '93 Honda Accord sedan with an all-electric "Smart Car"-sized vehicle...

I don't know, Tom. As long as there are giant SUVs roaming the roads I'm not feeling very safe in this little MF, highway or not.

But kudos to you for your environmentalness.

[Aggie87]

I don't know, Tom. As long as there are giant SUVs roaming the roads I'm not feeling very safe in this little MF, highway or not.

Not even just SUVs.... delivery trucks to Walmart, Target etc. 18 wheelers. Drunk drivers.

There's not alot around you in those Smart cars to protect you from anything. If everyone else drove one, it would even the playing field. But that ain't gonna happen.

[sidewinder]

I don't know, Tom. As long as there are giant SUVs roaming the roads I'm not feeling very safe in this little MF, highway or not.

Not even just SUVs.... delivery trucks to Walmart, Target etc. 18 wheelers. Drunk drivers.

There's not alot around you in those Smart cars to protect you from anything. If everyone else drove one, it would even the playing field. But that ain't gonna happen.

I remember picking up a sub-compact rental car in NYC. It looked OK as an option in person and would have been OK in Europe but when I checked it out I had second thoughts looking at the size and the salesman thought I was crazy to drive that in NYC. Paid the extra in the cause of safety !

[Jazzmoose]

I don't know, Tom. As long as there are giant SUVs roaming the roads I'm not feeling very safe in this little MF, highway or not.

Not even just SUVs.... delivery trucks to Walmart, Target etc. 18 wheelers. Drunk drivers.

There's not alot around you in those Smart cars to protect you from anything. If everyone else drove one, it would even the playing field. But that ain't gonna happen.

I wonder how much worse they are in this respect to those old Volkswagon Beetles we all loved back in the day...

[ejp626]

I don't understand why gas stations don't hike prices to $5 or $6 per gallon or whatever to solve this problem...

Two words: lynch mobs.

Also, it is illegal in many states to "profiteer" and charge excess prices for gas. I know they busted gas stations in NC during the last huricane, and they will be doing so again soon. Obviously, it is a simple matter of legislating against the notion of supply and demand. It really is interesting how we made fun of communist countries and how they never had bread on the shelves because they were command economies, but when the chips are down, we nationalize and engage in price fixing (including Nixon!).

[Rooster_Ties]

As integral to most of our lives as gasoline is, I don't think even tripling the price of gas in an emergency would drive down demand enough (in the short term, say 2 or 3 weeks) to really make much difference at all.

Even at $10 per gallon, that's still only $200 for a fill-up of a 20-gallon tank. If people gotta get from place to place, they're gonna pay whatever it takes in the short term. Our lives allow for nearly no other choice. The "we’re addicted to gas" mantra really is true. Our current infrastructure and the nature of our lives depends on it -- almost like water.

Now, if $10/gal prices stay at those levels for a month or more, then sure, that would START to drive demand down. But it would take a good month to really have much of an impact.

And the only way things are going to change in the long term, is if gas prices were suddenly to double in price – say to $6 or $7 per gallon, or even $10 per gallon. Then there would be some TRUE financial incentive for us to come to grips with our addiction to cheap oil.

Edited September 30, 2008 by Rooster_Ties