If you can't tell, this man was filling a 30 gallon trashcan (!) in the back of his truck with gasoline. Friend of a friend took this photo in Allen Texas (North of Dallas). I can only imagine the severity of the injuries that will befall our idiotocracy in the first 90 days of the collapse. God help us all. . .
wrong perspective, Rector. See, I’m GLAD there are Darwin Award winners who will take themselves out within the first few days…leaves less chaff the rest of us will have to deal with.
Ok, that was dark. I only wish I had f**ks to give at this point, but frankly if a person is going to self-select out, I won’t stand in their way.
Thanks for that additional information from your relatives, T2H.
And thanks for pointing out the mis-information from the TX Railroad Commissioner, in the article I’d linked to, Chris!
Despite rumors on social media and disruptions caused by Harvey, DeHaan said there is not expected to be any gasoline shortage in Texas or the U.S. Current reserves and refineries that remained open are expected to hold until the other refineries come back on-line.
The state's top oil and natural gas regulator, Railroad Commission of Texas Chair Christi Craddick, even took to Twitter on Monday to dispel online rumors of gasoline shortage that created long lines at gas stations in the Rio Grande Valley.
"Please stay calm and do not perpetuate rumors," Craddick said. "There is currently no shortage of gasoline in Texas due to Harvey."
I just flew into Austin and all but one station I passed on the way home from the airport was out. Not sure how many stations I saw, probably 8-10, but they were all on major roadways. I filled up at the “country” gas station by my house on a smaller farm-to-market road. Every pump had a car filling and one waiting, and this was 10:30pm in a rather sleepy area.
I’ve seen massive amounts of similar stories from FB friends and family in the area as well. It’s definitely a strange experience to see in real life. I lived in Detroit during the 2003 Northeast blackout and that was eye-opening and quite formative in my preparedness, but this is starting to feel a bit like that too. The weekend will be interesting to see how people handle things. My wife has brought up concerns about the UT football game tomorrow as well. It could get mighty interesting when up to 100,000 people have driven into town and can’t fill up to drive back home…
Good luck out there,
David
Aloha Chris! Just an FYI! That Exxon photo you are spreading showing $8.76/gallon price is total BS! I know because I drive by it. Notice the Independent Bank sign? That station is a new gas station under construction and is not even open yet. That price has been stuck on the sign for weeks before Harvey hit. Whoever is spreading that sign is spreading a lie. You really think someone is gasoline gauging by 400%?
Beware of assigning real moral value to everything you see. My experience here is that 98% of people I see and the businesses here are giving 125% to make life better under these dire circumstances.
Please do not feed the “evil oil company” mantra too much or we’ll end up like Caracas!
The key to avoiding further shortages will be the Houston area refineries, especially the Motiva (Port Arthur) plant, which may be offline for another couple of weeks. But every effort is being made to get everything running again.
Here’s the latest:
"US Gulf Coast refineries and ports were in the process of returning to service Friday, as the industry continued its recovery efforts following Hurricane Harvey. While roughly 2.9 million b/d to 3.9 million b/d of Texas refining capacity remained off-line, Valero was looking to resume full operations at its Corpus Christi and Three Rivers plants in several days, while Citgo said it was restarting its Corpus Christi plant.
Roughly 2.9 million b/d of Texas refinery capacity remained down Friday, or 16% of total US capacity.Assuming that the plants in partial shutdown or returning are at 50% of capacity, that would put the figure at roughly 3.9 million b/d, or 21% of US capacity.Colonial Pipeline, the biggest US refined product pipeline, continues to pump products east from Lake Charles, Louisiana, despite problems with its facilities in Texas resulting from Hurricane Harvey. "Deliveries will be intermittent and dependent on terminal and refinery supply," the company said Thursday. Colonial is aiming to restart pumping of gasoline and distillates from Houston and Beaumont, Texas, from Sunday. The Colonial system runs from Houston to Linden, New Jersey, and supplies about 60% of the incoming supply of gasoline into the Atlantic Coast. Colonial has the ability to ship 1.37 million b/d of gasoline on its Line 1 and 1.16 million b/d of middle distillates on Line 2.
Harvey's impact on the US Gulf Coast has already delayed millions of barrels of oil product cargoes bound for Latin America, and fostered worries about further delays and increasing prices. Mexico, a large buyer of US Gulf Coast refined products, has turned to refineries along the Canadian and US Atlantic Coasts for fuel supply. A source with knowledge of Mexican imports said the country has been looking to purchase gasoline "everywhere" and that it still needs more imports to satisfy its supply needs."
So it's going to be a few more days of "gasoline panic" at least.
My hope is that a few more people wake up to their near complete dependence on a system that could break down, as just demonstrated. Far too many will simply breath a sigh of relief when everything begins to flow again and be no better prepared next time.
How do we reach them, now, while they are still open to the idea that sometimes things don't go smoothly?
Hurricane Harvey was an historic storm that hit my city of Houston and communities throughout this region especially hard. Family, friends and neighbors are struggling to recover from the record rains. Americans nationwide are also feeling the impact, including at the pump.
The U.S. refining industry, centered on the Gulf Coast, was hit hard, too. Flooding forced us to shut down our Baytown and Beaumont refineries that manufacture gasoline and other fuels. Other companies have had to shut down major refineries in the region. I’ve been in this business for more than 30 years, and I’ve never seen anything like it. The impact of this hurricane has been unprecedented.
But so has been the response. Americans are rising to the challenge, going above and beyond to help each other in a time of need. The images we’ve all seen of the destruction are heartbreaking, but images of fellow Americans helping one another are inspiring. It’s that collaborative spirit that will help the Gulf Coast rebuild even stronger than before.
Our nation’s oil and gas industry is hard at work as well. At ExxonMobil, we’ve had to temporarily shut down some operations, but we haven’t stopped working. Just the opposite. My team is working around the clock to bring everything back on line as quickly as we can and get fuel to drivers that need it.
Our refining company is headquartered in Houston, so many on my staff are under a lot of stress at home dealing with hurricane damage. Some have seen their homes flooded, their cars swept away, and their lives upended. It’s a real testament to their commitment and compassion that, despite the personal hardships, they’re showing up for work each day to get the job done. They’re also lending a hand to the clean-up and recovery effort in their communities, and donating to the Red Cross and other charities. I’m really proud of our entire team.
To help meet Americans’ fuel needs in the wake of the hurricane, the current challenge we face is mainly a logistical one. Worldwide, there’s still more than enough supply to meet demand. But the storm has temporarily disrupted local and national supply lines. Not all the fuel is where it needs to be. We have to quickly reroute trucks and tankers to get supplies from more distant locations to places that previously relied on the Gulf Coast refineries.
And that’s exactly what we’re doing. We’re going the extra mile to reconnect the dots and move fuel quickly and safely. For example, our Baton Rouge refinery, which was spared the full brunt of the storm, remains fully operational, and is beginning to supply new locations throughout Texas. We’re going overseas for help, loading up fuels made at our refineries in Europe and shipping them to the United States. At the same time, we’re restarting operations in the region as soon as we safely can. Earlier today, we were able to reopen our South Houston and North Houston fuel terminals, important hubs that should enable drivers in the area to fuel up again soon.
Going the extra mile takes a little extra time. Not all service stations will have all the fuel they need right away. But we’re making real progress, and expect the situation to improve soon. In the meantime, drivers can help by not “panic-buying.” Topping off your tank is one thing; stockpiling fuel is another, and puts unnecessary stress on the system. We can all help each other if we don’t go overboard.
I’m confident our region and country will bounce back. So will America’s refining industry. Working together, we can withstand one of the worst hurricanes in history, help families get back on their feet, and get our nation moving forward again. I know I speak for the entire ExxonMobil family when I say we won’t stop until we do.
(Source)
Maybe this guy should run the Tx RCC too? Very reasonable statement.
Aloha! Wilde accusations based on BS …
From the Sydney article you link to. Apparently in 1817 scientists knew global warming was coming to Houston! Back when only 9mil lived in the entire USA!
Given that BS then I guess Beijing and the Industrial Revolution are to blame as well!! Oh, and lets throw in Kilauea Volcano too!
Aloha Chris! As you might have noticed even in Kalapana, Hawaii where there is no shortage of water there is still water hoarding. Down by the Painted Church there is a free to the public water fill up faucet for those who have no home or no county water or are just too poor. The limit is 50gal per fill up yet go there any day and you see 200gal containers on trucks getting filled.
Our farm is on county water and part of that water cost I get billed for is that “free water” with the 50gal limit!
Gas … water … food … money … drugs … sex …
Human nature has no bounds!
Aloha! Groovy mahalos and agree with Retor and Chris!
We’re all Boy Scouts here motto in tow BE PREPARED!
I live in Texas now. I also live in Los Angeles part of the year and Hawaii more of the year than Los Angeles. I used to live in Texas, more precise The Heights, which is Houston, back in the 1980s. I had a duplex in The Heights and a house in Galveston(45min drive south of Houston) also.
Disasters I have endured: Sylmar quake in California 1971, Hurricane Alicia Galveston,TX in 1983, Loma Preita quake San Francisco 1989, Hurricane Iselle Hawaii 2014 and now Hurricane Harvey 2017.
Long term Houstonians will recall Hurricane Alicia sucked the plate glass windows out of the Hilton and nearby high rises back then! Quite a mess in the downtown area. Huge flooding and storm surges too. Galveston was wiped out. But now Alicia is a distant after thought now!
Who remembers global warming causing Loma Preita or Hurricane Alicia?
Every one of those natural disasters I was involved in brought out the best in people. The human based disasters bring out the more seedy side of humanity, like the LA Riots in 1992! Besides there’s no Antifa Navy in Houston.
One of the things I first noticed in the 1980s about Houston is how many foreigners and US migrants from other states came there. That trend has continued since then because people go where the jobs are. In the 1980s my friends in Houston were mostly from Texas and other states but also Australia, Philippines, Mexico, Columbia, Venezuela, UK, Israel. Houston is not the redneck hick town a lot of America thinks it is. Neither is Texas in general.
My point is that Houston has had a lot of influx from outsiders who have never lived here so they do not know the potential hazards. Not many study flood zones and watersheds much less hurricane history and meteorology prior to purchasing a home. Most people look at the loan and interest rates and the school district and crime and the commute! BING … BANG … DONE!
Obviously nobody cares about real risk and logistics or else there would not be 20mil people living on the San Andreas Fault! North Ridge(LA) and Loma Preita(SF), both in California where the expert scientists live! Humans like to roll the dice!
Yes, roll the dice … but if I lose I want someone else to pay! So they buy insurance!
During Hurricane Alicia I was a private investigator in Houston, TX working for Equifax and after the hurricane insurance companies hired me to inspect hurricane damage claims. That was a year long job! But the insurance companies got busy before I even filed a single report pushing the Fed and State politicos to get claim payments down to $0.10 on the $1! How? The time tested old “threaten to leave” tactic! Like the Financial Crash in 2008 caused by the TBTF banks the TBTF insurance companies do the same. The TBTF banks in 2008 threatened Congress on the second go around and it worked! Here take $770BIL and don’t go to jail then give yourselves raises and donate to the Clinton Foundation! Congress is corrupt but it seems the most corrupt still LIVE WELL AND PROSPER! We’ve been governed by a most elite Kakocracy for decades now. The best Kakocracy your money and mine can buy! Like they tell you in AA … “All your best thinking got you here!”
To me the impending cost will be another TBTF crisis!
At what point do we learn there is no free ride and you can wear cuffs with a $12,000 Armani pantsuit at the same time? Or are we the next Caracas?
A little humor for your day.
Thursday was the worst day in Dallas and Austin. Yesterday was better as more stations were receiving gas deliveries. Of course, the question is, can they keep us supplied as the refineries come back on line? I hope all those people who came to Austin for the first home UT football game are able to get enough gas to return home.
