Gas Shortage in WNC Creates Panic at the Pump

Before Hurricane Gustav and Hurricane Ike, people in Western North Carolina were complaining about how much everyone has been paying for gasoline and diesel. I admit even I complained about the gasoline prices. Having to pay over $4 a gallon seemed a lot to pay when according to news reports on national television were stating that the national average was about $3.86. Well, the hurricanes came and went, and all the news stations were saying that there were no real damage to the oil rigs. I thought that is great news and even thought the gas prices would come down a little. But I was wrong.

A week after Hurricane Ike, the gas stations started raising their prices again. Then, they started running out of gasoline. For the past two weeks, gasoline in Western North Carolina has been extremely scarce. I had around three-quarters of tank so I wasn't worried. Not yet anyway. Being primarily a stay-at-home mom, I don't have a reason to drive much except for about 16 miles into town two mornings a week. However, most working people in this area have to drive long commutes to work every single day. I am sure there was some of them who were worried. Running out of gasoline for them would be missing a day of work. Missing work would mean a smaller paycheck. How can they pay their bills with a smaller paycheck. One by one it seemed like the gas stations were running out of gas. Well, last Tuesday (September 23) morning I drove to Brevard and noticed there was not even one gas station selling gasoline. There was a few who had diesel, but there was no gasoline.

Later that evening, my mother told me she was leaving Brevard and saw two gas stations had opened and had lines that backed into the main highway. By Thursday, I had heard that some of the gas stations had to call the police to come break up some fights. That's what happens when there's a gas shortage. Peoples cars get down near empty, some are evening running on fumes, and many tempers flare. I decided I would wait out the crisis. I didn't want to burn up what fuel I had sitting in a long line or have someone take their frustrations out on me. I made a wise choice. I finally got gasoline yesterday and was fortunate to arrive and find a short line. The Korner Mart gas station near Rosman had an attendant at the pumps and had a very well organized pattern for traffic to follow. With three pumps open, they were all running smoothly even though people had to go inside and prepay. They were limiting the amount of gas but I understood and was just glad to get a little gas because I was getting closer to empty than what I wanted to be.

Having seen this crisis here opened my eyes to how dependent we really are on gasoline and oil. The next president needs to focus on finding alternative fuel sources as well as expanding oil drilling here so that we are not so dependent on foreign oil. The oil companies also need to invest in alternative fuels and making them a reality instead of a maybe. We can't continue on the path we are currently on if the United States is going to prosper. The auto makers also need to figure out ways to convert gasoline guzzling vehicles into some cleaner, better fuel guzzling vehicles. I wouldn't want to get rid of my car just because it runs on gasoline, but I would be willing to have it converted to run on some other fuel source -- especially something cleaner and more efficient.

I am not sure why Western North Carolina suffered these gas shortages, but I am grateful to Congressman Heath Shuler and the other politicians who have worked to get fuel deliveries here. Although we are still having some shortages, it is not as bad as what it was Tuesday when we had absolutely no gasoline at all in my county. I hope other people realized how dependent we are on fuel too and demand that our leaders stop just talking and put some action behind their words. The United States would not be prepared if the entire nation ran out of fuel--it would affect our entire infastructure.