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.

Tags: diesel, diesel fuel, electricity shortage, energy crisis, fuel shortage, generators, India

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 21st, 2008 at 8:00 pm and is filed under Gas Prices. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.