Panic Buying of Fuel Grips UK Motorists


AlJazeera English/Video screen capture

A while back I wrote about lessons on resilience from a zombie apocalypse. But it doesn’t take a swarm of undead to show us that our current energy and transportation systems are seriously flawed.

All it takes is a few words from British Prime Minister David Cameron.

With an ongoing labor dispute with UK tanker drivers rumbling on, rumors were beginning to circulate about a potential strike. But with no strike announced—and a legal requirement to give seven days advanced notice—many observers are confused why Cameron, and other Government ministers, started to advise the public that they should stock up on fuel.

The resulting panic buying has lead to large lines forming outside gas stations, and some stations actually running dry. And while this time the crisis appears to be largely one of the Government’s own making, it is still a powerful reminder of just how vulnerable an economy that runs on cheap oil really is.

If the constant demand for cheap energy is entitlement culture gone mad, then the panic buying that ensues at the slightest hint of a temporary disruption is evidence of just how deep our sense of dependency has become.

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