We’ve been skirting around the issue since the current fuel crisis started getting serious.  Then came the hurricane season – especially the last two in the past two weeks. 

Availability of fuel was getting pretty tight before all that, and the prices, well…forgetaboutit.  Many of us remember the late 70’s and the 80’s when fuel prices went up, supplies went down, and most of us waited in long lines for our turn to buy gas.  Even days then odd days, and every time we went to the pump, we seemed to have to go earlier and earlier to get gas before it ran out.  In fact, in our community, many of us parked our cars in line late at night or at 2 a.m. and came back in the morning before the station opened so that we could purchase what we needed.

With the closing of some of the oil sources in the Gulf of Mexico due to the recent hurricanes, some experts are recommending possible rationing again.   Here we are 30 years later and we haven’t moved 30 years forward.  It’s not as if this is a new idea.  We have known for at least 30 years that we should be gradually reducing dependence on fossil fuels and replacing them with alternative sustainable sources of energy. 

Now that the fuel crisis has caught up with us again touching off other types of crisis, food issues, mortgage problems, unemployment and more, the idea of rationing is back.  Former Shell Oil Company President, John Hofmeister, told the Washington Times that ‘we need a president and Congress who is willing to make some courageous decisions regarding oil supply.” 

Hofmeister, who is chairman of the National Urban League, also made the comment that the fuel crisis and the economy is disproportionately hurting middle and lower income families.  He blames the politicians, pointing to the fact that president Bush purposely waited 7 and ½ years to deal with the gas crisis that was spinning out of control and not until it has become an economic catastrophe has he even begun addressing lifting the moratorium on offshore drilling.  He added that Congress has only made feeble attempts and “token gestures” to solve an energy crisis that requires significant action. 

Hofmeister feels that just as corporations have short, medium and long term strategies, so does the U.S. regarding the energy and economic crisis.  For now, he feels that in light of hurricanes that affect the availability of fuel in certain areas, there should be a limited – possibly six week – period of rationing fuel. 

These ideas will be explored further, as will many others, while lawmakers and oil companies look for solutions.  In the meantime, anyone who has a car should be forewarned and forearmed that rationing is a real possibility.  It could happen here again.

If the United States wants to see what could happen in the midst of an energy crisis, it should look at India’s current situation.  The U.S. has known for a long time that it should conserve energy and broaden the ways it develops energy, as well as becoming less dependent on fossil fuels.  Things have gotten to the point where they are out of control, and fuel issues are affecting the entire world.

Right now, the United States is dealing with the pressures of depending on foreign fossil fuels.  There is the short supply and the expense, to begin with.  Then there are the issues of developing other forms of fuel and energy.

India is dealing with some very intense energy and fuel issues that the U.S. should stay very aware of.  Basically, the situation is that India has had a very unstable supply of electric energy as well as an energy shortage.  As a result, small businesses and houses are purchasing supplies of diesel fuel to run generators in order to keep their businesses open.

The demand for diesel has gone up 40%, and according to reports, oil companies are REFUSING to meet this demand.  Many businesses simply can’t operate under the tremendous strain.  Without diesel, fishing boats cannot operate, farmers cannot get their goods to market, and truck drivers cannot travel long distances.  In instances where there is diesel fuel available in one area, there may be no fuel available in another, therefore, some truck drivers and farmers are not able to get their goods to market because there is no assurance that they will be able to purchase the diesel fuel to return home. 

So, in one area, food and other commodities are piling up waiting for the fuel to be able to take them to market while in another area, people cannot get the food and commodities they need.  One fisherman said that his family would go bankrupt waiting to try to sell the fish, especially if they went bad and had to be thrown out or given away.  At the other end, he said that family members who were to receive some of the fish that he can’t deliver will go hungry.

As we keep hearing lately and have been hearing for decades, everything is dependent on other things.  Energy and energy sources are not stand-alone issues.  To see how interconnected they are, one only look at what India is going through.  Hopefully that will motivate lawmakers and others to HURRY up and find a short-term and long-term solution.

With the fuel crisis looming large and causing problems and disruptions in families, businesses and industries around the world, there are many questions floating in the air.  Many questions are being asked about whether we will be able to turn the situation around.

Some experts say that it can turn around, but it will take a few years.  Others say that things can be better, but not totally turned around without an infusion of money, drilling and more.  Still other experts say that the situation can be turned around only if we approach things in a totally different way, not looking to fossil fuels to save us, but looking for viable, effective and efficient alternatives that are environmentally friendly, affordable and will actually work.

As if we don’t have enough to think of and deal with, the question has repeatedly been raised about what might happen to natural gas.  Yet more experts are talking about types of alternative fuels, with the main possibilities being natural gas, coal and nuclear energy.  As with anything in life, each of these energy sources has  a number of advantages along with some problems.

Environmentalists and conservationists are encouraging as much solar and wind power as possible, however, it would take more of those types of power than is possible from those sources to be able to supply the massive amounts of power needed to maintain power demand of cities, counties, states and the majority of the country.

So what is the problem and the worry with natural gas?  It would actually be an ideal fuel for many situations, except for the fact that it is also non-renewable, meaning that once it is gone, it is gone.  The great part about natural gas is that it is versatile and it is used in making everything from plastics and chemicals to fertilizers, and even to manufacturer and process hydrogen – a fuel source that many countries are looking at as an alternative to gasoline.

Natural gas burns cleaner than fossil fuels, however, it is hard to transport and extremely explosive – often responsible for catastrophic explosions that took days, weeks or months to contain.  One more point in favor of using natural gas is that 95% of the natural gas that the U.S. uses is gathered from right here in the U.S.  One of the problems, as mentioned earlier, is that natural gas will eventually run out, most likely sooner than we think (just as this fuel crisis has shown), and we need to find a fuel that will be sustainable and renewable.

There are sill many questions to be asked and ideas to be explored to solve the fuel crisis for the long term.  In the meantime, we can all do our part to conserve the fuel that we do have now and deal with sensible alternatives today and for the future.

OK.  We have all been watching the news and reading the paper, digging through the internet and checking for any information we can regarding how to deal with the fuel crisis and how hard it is hitting individuals, families, businesses, industries and entire countries – in fact, actually, the entire planet.

We hear about the skyrocketing cost of fuel affecting the trucking industry, commuters trying to get to and from work, bus lines in other countries and more.  One of the latest industries that has been hit hard and is in need of help is the fishing industry.  This does not apply in the United States, yet, however in the UK and other countries, it is taking the equivalent of millions U.S. dollars to help these industries overcome the burden that the fuel crisis has caused.

The cost of regular gas is not the only fuel that has gotten more expensive.  The cost of diesel has gone up exponentially more than the cost of regular fuel.  Both types of fuel have gone up astronomically and are causing major upsets and disruptions in every corner and aspect of life.

It is logical that the fishing industry has been hit hard and it is interesting that many of us had not really thought about that particular industry. When you think about the situation, there are many things that depend on the fishing industry.  Besides being a large part of the economy of many countries, the fishing industry yields products that contribute to health care products such as vitamins.  This may sound “fishy” but the vitamin industry is a multi-billion dollar industry and fish oils are some of the biggest sellers these days because of the newest information regarding the benefits of the oils and vitamins that are direct products of fish.

When we look at how far reaching this crisis is, it is important to take note that it has touch every industry in some way.  With countries having to cut back services while helping support – and even bail out businesses, and entire industries – it is essential that we take note and pay attention that even industries that we mistakenly perceive as less mainstream than others are critical to the world’s economy. 

It is just as we have heard from all sides of many issues for years: everything on this planet is connected – including counties and industries and people. Hopefully we will all work together through those connections to help solve this crisis for the good of everyone.