I know that, read post #11! I was trying to draw some debate or comment out of CarlT with my question.
So, I just read 3 pages of this thread and I have no clue what the heck is going on here. Perhaps it's because I'm on the other side of the pond, and since we had a nice weekend we spent most of it outside away from the internet, but I have no idea what you all are on about. I'm guessing by the context clues provided here that there was some kind of temporary localized fuel shortage brought about by panicked citizens who misunderstood a poor news report. Does that about sum it up? Since this is SD and this particular discussion has already taken care of itself, I'd like to pose a somewhat related question to what seems to be a relatively bright community (consider this the requisite first thread drift). First, the background: As it stands today the global community is consuming more and more oil to produce everything from plastics to fuel and everything in between. By some estimates we've hit peak oil output and the amount of available oil in the ground will steadily decrease, while other accounts indicate that peak oil is still years off. Although alternative energy sources seem appealing, currently they can't meet consumer demand as efficiently as oil. Today, with oil still available (despite speculation in the market driving higher prices), investing in alternative energy is considered by some not cost effective. My question: At what point do you think oil will finally become too costly, and the incentive will shift to increased research into alternative energy sources? I'm aware that this question is centered on fuel, and oil is still needed for a whole host of other products. But it seems like the most topical area to discuss.
To trim it down very quickly for you: - Tanker drivers said they might be going on strike at some point in the future. Not for a while yet but they really are seriously thinking about it......soon..............maybe - Government said 'This is a very serious situation. you should all stock up and keep petrol in jerry cans in your shed/garage/wherever and that would be the 'sensible precaution'. - Fire and medical services rightly went nuts saying 'No don't do that, it's monumentally stupid.' - Public on the whole completely ignored the sensible people and went 'AAAAAAAAAAAARGHH!! BUY ALL THE FUEL!!!!' - Some complete moron thought that decanting petrol between containers was a brillaint thing to do whilst standing in the kitchen AND cooking WITH GAS. She is in hospital with 40% burns and last I heard was said to be in a serious condition. - The end. Frankly, she deserves it - classic example of Darwin at work. Until I heard the news story, even after so many years browsing the internet, I simply refused to believe that any human being could possibly be that retarded. Evidently I was wrong. tl;dr Government reacted in completely the wrong way to a pretty vague and meaningless threat of industrial action and caused a mass public panic resulting in the injury of at least one person (probably several when you account for the inevitable accidents in the queues) and brief fuel shortages in certain areas.....or should that read cretin areas.
They probably buried some other news using the "impending fuel strike OMG !" hype. Or, they really are just stupid. It is an artificially produced situation, but it has very real consequences. Everywhere probably has fuel again by now, and in a couple of weeks or so, it can all happen again.
As for the woman who got burned... She was decanting petrol in her kitchen. With the windows shut. With the gas cooker on. Yes, it was sad what happened, but at her age she should have had a vague idea what might have happened. And as for the papers saying that its the governments fault that it happened to her, no its not, plenty of other people with common sense managed just fine. I feel the government did the right thing warning people, its just the situation was made 10 times worse due to lines of OAP's queuing up to put literally £6 worth in to top up their tanks, when they perhaps only drive 10 miles a week. Common sense should have prevailed, but yet again with this population, it didn't.
It's a conspiracy, don'cha know? Like the government stirred up a panic to get a nice little tax boost at the end of the financial year (gotta square those accounts, and lying with statistics only gets you so far), we are in cahoots with the political powers to suppress any discussion on the subject so that bright sparks like you don't catch on and fan the flames of public dissent faster than a housewife decanting petrol over a burning stove. It is obvious that we are just the soulless puppets of an oppressive regime that does not believe in free speech. What forum needs moderators anyway? Surely a people who can make informed judgements about what ministers say, understand the finer points of supply and demand in a free market economy and know how to decant and store volatile, flammable liquids with a knowledgable caution that would make their chemistry teacher proud, would be able to behave themselves with a modicum of responsibility on a publicly accessible forum? Seriously, get out while you can before we brainwash you into joining the Bit Collective (resistance is futile...) and escape to that bastion of democracy and free speech called 4Chan. It's too late for us but you can still save yourself. Run!
