Severe Gas Shortage Continues to Cripple Atlanta

Motorists are cruising around Atlanta or waiting in long lines looking for gasoline. Many fueling stations have run dry, while others have extremely long lines. The result is fewer cars on the road and more carpooling. Many have unsettling feeling and are concerned as gas prices soar.

Hurricanes Ike and Gustav and Ike caused many refineries to be closed, affecting north Georgia, parts of Tennessee, and west North Carolina. Metro Atlanta has been particularly hard hit because cleaner fuel standards prohibit gas being diverted from other areas where supplies are more robust.

Gas prices have soared as a result from $3.75 per gallon on average in the Southeast just two weeks ago to $4.14.

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The Southeast is the only region of the country without extensive oil reserves, leaving it vulnerable to supply dips after natural disasters. The Gulf pipelines which the Southeast depend on heavily continue to operate at low capacity.

Some might find the experience reminiscent of the 1973 oil crisis. Others are realizing that public transportation is not ample. Do such events affect long-term change or merely a short-term panic?

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