[oxj]

Back in the 1970's some people set others on fire at the gasoline pumps. Well, I suppose part of this had to do with people smoking at gas stations.

I understand that this is why NJ and OR don't have self-serve gasoline. Apparently, the tensions were just too high for people to serve themselves.

The argument for self-service had to do with savings, but I remember hearing of a report which showed that the savings were insignificant per gallon, not the purported four percent. A back-of-the-envelope calculation would show that they are, in fact, insignificant, yet we lost the luxury of self-service.

[manu]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Sixstrings', 'T')his reminds me of a BBC Peak Oil documentary I saw. It posited a scenario in which, after rising oil prices, a hurricane triggers shortages. The funny thing though is that in the video I think they dated the fictional scenario 2016, and the fictional prices were lower than what they are now, lol.
As for the video I linked, what really struck me was the woman crying and screaming "I just need gas to go to work!" And the business lady, just randomly screaming at somebody. Why are these people yelling at EACH OTHER? It's like animals turning on one another, makes no sense. If you're out of gas, why would you rage agaisnt someone else out of gas? Did people behave this way during the 70's shortages?

[CarlosFerreira]

OK, let's see: food prices are high, so there's incentive to produce food. Why will there be shortages?

[Tanada]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Sixstrings', 'W')hy are these people yelling at EACH OTHER? It's like animals turning on one another, makes no sense. If you're out of gas, why would you rage agaisnt someone else out of gas? Did people behave this way during the 70's shortages?

[TheDude]

Self - serve gas in Oregon ? Not likely

We're not going to pump gas! We're not savages. And that dreadful sales tax they pay in other states, how tacky...

There was a ballot measure in '82 to bring self-serve to OR - didn't happen, and during a recession no less. Dunno about NJ but tensions generally don't get very high out here about something as marginal as having to pump gas, the persistence of the law is mostly a cultural quirk I believe.

I've seen keylock pumps in more remote parts of the state - de facto self-serve, a sly run-around the whole filling station concept.

[Jotapay]

Bike (large)
+
+
+
=

49cc Yamaha Scooter: $2700
80-120 mpg
3 x 5-gallon gas cans in the garage = 15 gallons of gas = 12 weeks of commuting

[Ferretlover]

Georgia governor asks for SPR release as gasoline panic continues
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'N')ew York (Platts)--30Sep2008
The state of Georgia has asked for crude to be released from the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve to help alleviate its gasoline shortages, according to a letter posted on the website of Governor Sonny Perdue.
"I believe a surge in crude from the reserve would bridge the gap until full production resumes [from refineries hit by Hurricane Ike] and lessen the impact of shortages on the daily lives of our citizens," said Perdue in a September 29 letter to President Bush.

[shortonsense]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('MacG', 'W')ell, this is EXACTLY what has been predicted since very long, even by Mr Savinar himself who you nicked the avatar from. PeakOil meets JIT, MOL and Complex Systems with Diminishing Returns.

[GoghGoner]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ferretlover', 'G')eorgia governor asks for SPR release as gasoline panic continues

[lawnchair]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ferretlover', 'G')eorgia governor asks for SPR release as gasoline panic continues
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'N')ew York (Platts)--30Sep2008The state of Georgia has asked for crude to be released from the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve to help alleviate its gasoline shortages, according to a letter posted on the website of Governor Sonny Perdue.
"I believe a surge in crude from the reserve would bridge the gap until full production resumes [from refineries hit by Hurricane Ike] and lessen the impact of shortages on the daily lives of our citizens," said Perdue in a September 29 letter to President Bush.

[ReverseEngineer]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Sixstrings', 'W')hy are these people yelling at EACH OTHER? It's like animals turning on one another, makes no sense. If you're out of gas, why would you rage agaisnt someone else out of gas?

[manu]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('CarlosFerreira', 'O')K, let's see: food prices are high, so there's incentive to produce food. Why will there be shortages?

[CarlosFerreira]

They can't; it would take a massive infrastructure collapse to end all the food in all the world (or the ability to distribute it, which is right now the most pressing issue).

Last years, wheat paid to producers in the UK was something like £130 por cubic meter, compared to £60 per cubic meter the year before. That's over 100% increase year on year.

There are 2 forces driving this astonishing: increase in production costs (fertilizer fetched something like a 200% price increase, fuel some 30 to 50% increase), bust mostly to the crop failures that happened in Autralia (long draught) and the US (floodings), which shrinked offer in the market. The influence of the switch to producing corn for biofuels hasn't helped either (I think the World Bank published a report saying it accounted for a lot of the increase).

Essentially, there's pretty much to feed us all, western boys. Food will command a premium, but that is relative, because we've had a long decline in the prices of food for so long (like, 50 or so years) that some of us have simply never known how it was before.

The shift will come from food commanding a greater percentage of income. Instead of the current 10 or so percent, it will command more, and remove disposable income for other consumption.

The sort of tragedy people seem to point to, with food just no being available is possible if the distribution channels fail. Again, the distribution channels will start draining more money, as energy prices increase, but they won't simply grind to a halt. A couple of scares and the odd shortage? Quite possible. It has happened before, like when truckers go on strike. In certain cases, the JIT distribution channels, that have proved so efficient, will probably have to change.

[Byron100]

Back on topic, the gas shortage has eased greatly here in the ATL. The majority of stations now have gas (even premium!), and prices are dropping dramatically...down from $4.09 to $3.69 at the corner Chevron. Still a lot of scooters on the road, though, as well as more people carpooling, taking the bus, etc.

I have a feeling that it'll be a long, long time before people start taking gas for granted again around here, and I think this shortage was a very good lesson for the residents of one of the most car-dependent cities in the world.

Anyone else still seeing any spot shortages up and down the East Coast?

[ushoys]

Driving from Chattanooga to Charlotte on Sunday Oct 5th I found no gasoline at one I-85 exit at Gaffney, SC which is the only place I stopped. But most gas stations at both ends of the route seemed to have 87 Grade unleaded. Most still have plastic bags on all but 1 nozzle at each pump. Mid and high grade unleaded are generally unavailable and a fair proportion do not have diesel either.