[Battle_Scarred_Galactico]

Yet more evidence of how people do/will behave. This is par for the course.

Don't worry, it will be fine once we have biodiesel 747s and wind-powered SUVs.

[AirlinePilot]

This has been my fear all along also. The ill prepared masses panicking at the first sign of normalcy dissappearing. Any small shortage or crisis seems to be magnified by the inability of regular folks to manage without being spoon fed thier basic needs.

This should be a wake-up call for all you soft landing types. This type of panic rapidly snowballs into social and economic chaos. Who gets blamed? Local and federal government for not being "prepared". What a bunch of hogwash. What has happened to the American pioneer spirit? How difficult can it be to make some very minor preparations to go without power and water for a week or so? We are in deep doo-doo come post peak.

When the going gets tough......you know the rest. Seems to me that when the going gets tough anymore the masses just fall down and can't get up. Its pathetic, but also very forboding. What is going to happen once we start to see real shortages and crisis? I'm a lot closer to picking up a few assault rifles and a few thousand rounds than I ever was. That and some boxed MRE'S for when it gets really bad.

[Permanently_Baffled]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('AirlinePilot', 'T')his has been my fear all along also. The ill prepared masses panicking at the first sign of normalcy dissappearing. Any small shortage or crisis seems to be magnified by the inability of regular folks to manage without being spoon fed thier basic needs.

This should be a wake-up call for all you soft landing types. This type of panic rapidly snowballs into social and economic chaos. Who gets blamed? Local and federal government for not being "prepared". What a bunch of hogwash. What has happened to the American pioneer spirit? How difficult can it be to make some very minor preparations to go without power and water for a week or so? We are in deep doo-doo come post peak.

When the going gets tough......you know the rest. Seems to me that when the going gets tough anymore the masses just fall down and can't get up. Its pathetic, but also very forboding. What is going to happen once we start to see real shortages and crisis? I'm a lot closer to picking up a few assault rifles and a few thousand rounds than I ever was. That and some boxed MRE'S for when it gets really bad.

[MacG]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Permanently_Baffled', ' ')If there is a permanent shortage, then you can avoid the queues and the panic by rationing, ie each consumer can only purchase certain amount of gallons per week. You could even make the coupons tradeable.

[nero]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'I')t's rightout amazing how fast "market solutions" are thrown out the window when they stop functioning. A glimmer of hope actually.

[Permanently_Baffled]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('nero', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'I')t's rightout amazing how fast "market solutions" are thrown out the window when they stop functioning. A glimmer of hope actually.

[Leanan]

Some gas stations down there are reportedly selling gas for $5 or $6 a gallon. Then there's the "black market":

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'A')t one Wal-Mart, 30 people sat on the sidewalk while they used the store's outside electrical outlets to recharge their cell phones. At one gas station, a man went car-to-car selling fuel from a 10-gallon plastic tank. The price was $20 for about a gallon, and people happily paid.

[Trindelm]

Ok, fuel is short, people need groceries and get to work outside the region of devastation...
Wouldn't it make sense for people to start car and gas pooling?
Are they that insistent on their lifestyle?
Does anyone else exist outside their little world?

Maybe I'm expecting rational from the irrational-bloated masses willing to punch a woman in the face, all to first to gas up their suv.

[ritter]

These scenarios are making me think that my best option is to stock enough water and food to get me, wife and daughter through a week or two hunkered down at home prior to any effort to leave town for the inlaws place in the country. It seems that traffic (ala Houston) and hoarding (ala NO and Florida) will make immediate evacuation pretty sketchy. I suppose along with that, 20 gallons of gas would be a good thing to have on hand. I guess the rest of these thoughts should go in the short-term suburban survival thread.

Ritter

[PrairieMule]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Leanan', 'W')e are so dependent on electricity it isn't even funny. Some people are now demanding that gas stations be required to have generators, so they can pump gas if there's no power. FEMA is dispatching generators to gas stations. They are also supplying generators to the suppliers to those gas stations.

[Leanan]

It's cash-only. One woman waited in line for hours, only to find they couldn't take her credit card. She started crying.

[Revi]

Seems to me that this is the best argument for alternative sources of energy yet. If you get around in an electric vehicle powered by your own solar, there's no problem. If your hot water and electricity was solar, you are fine. Your panels would have to be covered during the hurricane, but as soon as you uncover them you're making power, and hot water. In a place like Miami you'd have plenty of sun. Why not? We installed a solar emergency light system, and solar hot water in our house for exactly this kind of problem. When the lights go off, ours stay on. We can listen to the radio, feed the woodstove, and take a hot shower. If even half of the people had something like that, there would be no problem.

[SinisterBlueCat]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('nero', '
')
If they actually allowed market solutions then there wouldn't be any lines. The gas stations that were open could jack up their prices to the point where demand meets supply.

[Leanan]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')hat is a nice thought, but somehow I think that if the gas station owners were allowed to do that, people would be dragging the attendants out into the street and shooting them like dogs.

[OilsNotWell]

Wow. $20/gallon...Now that's price rationing...THe funny thing is, a 'free' market like that actually helps the situation by allocating greatest need by price...

[Revi]

I used to live in a third world country and I wouldn't say that there were free markets there. Most people didn't have cars nor electricity. They would not have been standing in line for gasoline. I did see a lot of people freaking out and burning buses in the capital city when the price went up 5 cents on food. They didn't have much extra, so when went up even a little it was a desperate situation.

[Leanan]

Or just to those with a lot of money and/or not much sense. I bet that guy who "has" to fill up because he's only got a half tank, even though he has nowhere to go, would be willing to pay $20/gallon - just for the peace of mind.

[turtleT]

My parents live in Palm Beach county. They live in middle class neighborhood without power. Based on their observations and discussions with neighbors, a big part of the current need for gas right now is the 'need' to run personal generators. People are lining up for hours just so they can have electricity to watch TV. Can't miss the games you know!

My parents refused to get a generator this year based on principal. Everyone around them has one and the noise pollution is incredible. People had them running as soon as the hurricane passed. Talk about an addiction. My confidence in the general population is so low.

My parents biggest concern right now is not lack of electricity or the damage to their home, it's the lack of income because there is no job to go to.

[aflurry]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('nero', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'I')t's rightout amazing how fast "market solutions" are thrown out the window when they stop functioning. A glimmer of hope actually.

[aflurry]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('OilsNotWell', 'W')ow. $20/gallon...Now that's price rationing...THe funny thing is, a 'free' market like that actually helps the situation by allocating greatest need by price...