What Would Happen if Oil Supplies in America Suddenly Dried Up?
Raymond
Lines of cars stretch for miles waiting to fill up their tanks, some
drivers inching along as the line slowly moves while others, long out
of gas, have no choice but to push their vehicles down the street.
People are testy, eyeing each other with suspicion, getting into
physical scuffles when they think someone cut them in line. Some sleep
in their cars overnight in the parking lot, waiting for the tanker to
pull up so they’ll have enough gas to get to work in the morning. If
this sounds like a flashback to the gas crisis of the 70s, you weren’t
in the Southeast U.S. in late September and early October of 2008.
Atlanta, Asheville, Charlotte, Nashville, Raleigh, Columbia – these
are just a few of the cities that were hit with a major gas shortage
in the weeks after two back-to-back hurricanes shut down oil
refineries in the Gulf Coast. It started off slowly; local news
stories casually mentioned that due to some refineries closing down in
Texas, some cities could end up with less gas than usual. Soon, more
and more yellow ‘Sorry, Out of Service’ bags began appearing on pumps.
People began to worry – if I can’t find gas, how am I going to get to
work? That’s when the panic buying began.
Too many people started topping off their tanks, intent on making sure
they were on ‘F’ at all times. Others started hoarding, filling up
multiple gas cans and the tanks of cars they didn’t use on a regular
basis. Of course, that just made things worse, and soon finding gas
was all but impossible in cities all over the Southeast. People had to
call dozens of stations ahead of time to see if they had gas, only to
arrive and be told they were too late. At stations that did have gas,
police were forced to control the crowds after some pulled out
baseball bats, cut ahead in line and dared anyone who didn’t like it
to speak up. Some people were arrested for siphoning gas from
unattended vehicles.
In cities like Asheville, North Carolina, community college classes
were canceled and government offices shut down. City buses were packed
to the point of questionable safety. A lot of people were forced to
stay home from work. The worst of the shortage lasted about two
miserable weeks of yelling, pushing, waiting in absurdly long lines
and paying painfully high prices to stations that capitalized on the
opportunity to gouge consumers. Now that it’s nearly over, everyone is
breathing a collective sigh of relief and going back to their normal
everyday lives.
While many people chalk the shortage up to a temporary issue that was
exacerbated by the ugly side of human nature, others see it as a taste
of what could be to come. It was an eerie breakdown in normalcy, and
it highlighted the extent to which our society is currently dependent
on oil. Sure, better technology is on the way. But it’s not here yet.
What if something major happened that disrupted oil availability for a
longer period of time – a month, or even a year?
Imagine a similar gas shortage, on a nationwide or even worldwide
scale. Any number of scenarios could cause this to happen. Some people
cite the very real possibility that terrorists could target the oil
market, but the truth is, even a much smaller, less dramatic event
could cause a devastating, long-lasting shortage. We definitely seem
to be marching toward ‘peak oil’, and we’re certainly not prepared for
that – but we’re even less prepared for a sudden, unexpected,
prolonged disruption in oil supplies.
Unfortunately, the natural reaction for most people in such a
situation is to panic. Americans are already jittery because of the
current state of the economy. Suddenly, life in the U.S. of A. doesn’t
seem so stable anymore. This insecurity coupled with a major gas
shortage would definitely be a recipe for disaster, particularly since
Americans are accustomed to all of life’s necessities, conveniences
and frivolities being easily accessible at all times.
You can imagine what the government would tell people at first: relax.
It’s okay. Keep calm and carry on. These platitudes, however dire the
situation would be in reality, would be seen by authorities as a
necessary attempt to put off the inevitable chaos that would come when
people realized that, well, actually, it’s not okay.
During the recent temporary 2-3 week shortage of gas in the Southeast,
people were mostly reassured that there was an end in sight. Gas
tankers were coming. Supply would go back up, so there was no need to
bash the neighbor’s head in and take his gas can or begin looting
grocery stores. But, a sudden, widespread, large-scale shortage would
be different. No matter what we were told by the government, panic
would set in almost immediately.
Some people reading this might think – okay, so we’ll walk. We’ll
start using solar panels and electric cars. But, it’s not that easy.
Those things won’t be magically available all over the country as soon
as a real energy crisis hits. Sure, over an extended period of time,
alternatives like these would be put into place and society would
begin to go back to some semblance of ‘normal’, but in the meantime,
chaos would reign. The idea that society as a whole would simply adapt
and move on assumes that people would react in a rational, law-abiding
way. And that’s simply not the way most humans function in a crisis.
In the short term, the government would likely ration oil-based fuel.
Frightened by the fact that they couldn’t stock up on gas and heating
oil, people would clear the shelves in grocery stores. Utility
companies would likely initiate planned rolling blackouts to preserve
supplies, adding to the sense of unrest. Without power, looting would
begin. All of this would occur within days.
If public rioting became widespread, the President could declare a
state of emergency and martial law would go into effect. School would
be canceled. Most businesses would be forced to close. The economy
would be crippled, because what little gas was available would
probably be commandeered by the government for use by police,
ambulances, fire trucks and the military. That means no supply trucks
stocking store shelves. No USPS, UPS or Fed-Ex.
Production would stop on products made from petroleum, and that
includes not just plastic and polyester but synthetic fertilizer and
pesticide, too. Airports would shut down, stranding people wherever
they were. Most power plants would run out of fuel. Emergency vehicles
would be in conservation mode, perhaps unable to answer every request
for help. People who rely on medical treatments to stay alive would
start dying.
In essence, life would become suddenly, shockingly local. No longer
tied together by cheap energy, society would break down into pockets.
Some areas would be better off than others, especially those with mild
climates, abundant and easily accessible fresh water and fertile land.
Since it’s not known what kind of plan the government has in place for
such a scenario, it’s hard to predict how long food supplies would
remain intact. It’s possible that emergency food supplies could be
transported to some areas via coal-powered trains, but it’s difficult
to say how widespread such help would be, and how long it would last –
especially as a lack of cheap oil-based fertilizer cut back food
production. In the meantime, people would be getting really hungry.
And hunger is certainly a powerful incitement for riots.
WARNING; With the changing conditions in the Middle East and the
political turmoil in the US, a strong possibility of civil
disobedience can occur due to fuel shortages,
SEE
http://earthfirst.com/what-would-happen-if-oil-supplies-in-america-suddenly-dried-up/