30 Pictures That Show Americans Freaking Out Over The ‘Gas Shortage’ They Pretty Much Created By Themselves
A cyber attack has crippled a major pipeline in the US. The administration of US President Joe Biden projected that the Colonial Pipeline, source of nearly half the fuel supply on the East Coast, would restart in a few days and urged drivers not to top up their tanks.
"We are asking people not to hoard," U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm told reporters at the White House. "Things will be back to normal soon."
Care to guess what everyone did? Even though government and industry officials said the nation had plenty of fuel and the pipeline was set to resume operations shortly, nervous drivers clogged gas stations and created shortages in parts of or all 11 states.
At least 12,000 gas stations reported being completely empty, and the squeeze pushed the price of a gallon past $3—the highest it has been since 2014. It's the toilet paper frenzy all over again.
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Gas Shortage
Doesn't petrol eat through those plastics, like why they have the "no unapproved containers" signs on pumps ? Even if not...the fumes, the skin burns and fire risk is, well. I just can't explain how confused I am by using a bag of all things, to keep petrol in your home.
Gas Shortage? Christianburg Sign War To The Rescue
Do Not Be This Person
Many of these shortages have been caused by people's irresponsible hoarding. North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, for example, told CNN on Wednesday that panic buying caused a gas supply problem in his state. With about 70% of Charlotte's gas stations out of fuel and price gouging complaints piling up across the state, Cooper said that they are working on multiple fronts to mitigate the problems at hand.
"I want this gas supply problem fixed as quickly as possible, and we are working with the local and federal officials, and the company to get that done. I have declared a state of emergency which would allow the transportation waivers for more trucks and heavier trucks to come into the state to bring gas, and we have a waiver from the EPA to increase the amount of fuel coming in," Cooper stated.
The Bag Is On The Pump Because Its Out Of Service. She Isn’t Getting Anything
It would be even funnier if the pump was running and charging her, but no gas was coming out of it. Regardless, if she’d look up from her phone fir a few seconds, she might notice that it was out of order.
Better Pick Up A Couple Extra Bags
What alarms me is the plastic bag in foreground on left.... did she already drop one?
The federal government, meanwhile, has loosened rules to make it easier for suppliers to refill storage, including lifting seasonal anti-smog requirements for gasoline and allowing fuel truckers to work longer hours.
CNN also reported that ransomware hackers demanded nearly $5 million from Colonial Pipeline, according to two sources familiar with the incident. But at this point, the company has not paid the ransom.
Colonial Pipeline restarted operations about 5 p.m. ET, the company said in a statement.
"Following this restart, it will take several days for the product delivery supply chain to return to normal. Some markets served by Colonial Pipeline may experience, or continue to experience, intermittent service interruptions during the start-up period. Colonial will move as much gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel as is safely possible and will continue to do so until markets return to normal," the company said.
This What Y’all Doing Now, Out Here Hoarding Resources
Colonial first announced it became a victim of the cyber-attack late last week, prompting a shutdown of operations into Wednesday. An interagency working group, with the Energy Department serving as lead agency, was assembled over the weekend, and officials assessed "multiple contingencies" in the event of a prolonged shutdown and decreased fuel supplies nationwide.
President Biden previewed the decision in remarks on Wednesday. Talking to reporters, he said: "We have been in very, very close contact with Colonial Pipeline, which is the one area you're talking about, where that's one of the reasons that gas prices are going up. And I think you're gonna hear some good news in the next 24 hours. And I think we'll be getting that under control."
They Fill Up Jacuzzi-Sized Containers With Gas
I’m not sure this is a selfish hoarding. That type of container is commonly used on farms. He could be getting extra gasoline to keep his farming equipment running during the 5 day period.
It's Been Truly Chaotic
Those aren't even new jerry cans save maybe 1 or two of them. This guy has been waiting for this moment his whole life. Probably has a bunker full of guns and canned beans waiting for the end of the world
We’ve Received Calls Into The Weartv Newsroom About This Gas Station In Escambia County Selling Regular Gas For $4.29/Gallon
Within a minute of our news car showing up, it was dropped to $3.29
Gas Shortage
I bet people with electric cars are laughing their asses off at all this.
Another Idiot Filling Up...
LIBTARDS wondering why is gas missing? I voted for Biden and the cancelled pipeline and being energy dependent again from our friends in Russia, China and the Middle East when Trump made us independent and rich.... libtard thinking - more for energy, more for gas, more for heating... and hyperinflation hurting everyone - dumbtards.
Methodically Make The Shortage Even Shorter
Idiot In Va. Stopped At The Light And Smelled Gas To My Left. Put My Windows Up Quick.
People Stockpiling Gasoline And Creating An Unnecessary Shortage
Pumps Have Been Closed
Viewing Gas Shortages As An Opportunity To Sell Gas For $16/Gallon (Nc).
People Are Hoarding So Much Gas They Can't Fit It In Their Tiny Car
Then how did they get the containers there in the first place? They don’t expand when full, but just get much heavier, so even though they may weigh it down, they should fit back inside the car. My greater worry is about the driver and the fumes.
Filling Up Every Gas Canister They Have In Their Garage
Note: this post originally had 34 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
Somebody should have told these people there was a vaccine shortage
👏👏👏👏👏
Since 9/11 in the US, and even since 1995 OK City bombing, that much fuel at once is a red flag to the ATF, FBI, et al. Which basically means a lot of these people just got put on a watchlist, for gas they won't even be able to use, and will try to sell, and then end up in prison and I'm really okay with that. I really am. .... Signed, saw this in the 1970s, that was an actual shortage
I am really surprised they were able to fill so many containers. In France, you can only fill the car reservoir. It is allowed to have a 20L jerrycan at home for mower or other appliances, or to transport in a 5L jerrycan for emergencies.
I was thinking the same, I am pretty sure you can't show up with a barrel at a German gas station, let alone filling it to the brim.
But in Germany you do not get shot when you try to stop an idiot from pumping insane amounts of gas.
This I had forgotten, Americans and their guns!
You totally can. A lot of road construction sites, gardeners and the like use 1000L containers to be able to refuel their tools on site. And they fill those containers at fas stations
It's not usual in the US, and many places discourage it ("one 5G can only") in normal times, but I suspect the mayhem was such that nobody cared to risk their life for US minimum wage and the honor of Big Petroleum.
My big thing was approved canisters... some lady was putting gas in a bag for heavens sake WHAT!!!! It may be just the crazees but are there laws about what you can put gas in?? coz most of these would be illegal in my environs...
@Monty, it's illegal in the US, too. About half the containers are. It's insane to me.
Why you guys so advanced in the most sensible ways? The US is so far behind 😭
This isnt common.
in america everything is different
At US stations, in my experience, you can only get so much before the pump stops. You then just begin a new transaction. I had a pickup truck that had a larger tank than could be filled by a single transaction, so I would have to use two transactions to fill the tank.
Same here. We do fill up 6 x 100L jerrycans for the lifeboat, but we always go to the same garage in the nearby town, usually in a marked up vehicle so they know who we are and what we're doing.
Free country.
Yes, same here. Petrol stations would never allow you to use a bag or a barrel
yeah well that's because of the whole don't tread on my rights to be a f*****g idiot concept in the US
Yes, excellent points. Also, I remember the gas shortage of the 70's too. I was a child, but I remember that people were assigned certain days that they were allowed to get gas. And I also remember seeing on TV the long lines of cars at gas stations.
Me too. In England we had to register with a local garage and could only go there to fill up.
Not that I want to encourage anyone’s explosives research here, but I thought it was buying lots of nitrogen-based fertilizer that should been a red flag for the OKC bombing, not gasoline?
@Katchen, Yes, fertilizer is the one we are all told about. However, ti required a lot of petroleum-based fuel to make that boom. And all it takes to go on a watchlist is one fed to nominate you, and they check your background. Are you violent? Affiliated with known or suspected terror organizations or funding for them? (Think: Unite the Right rally, 2017/ Januar 6, 2021 types). So, yeah, some of these folks, if they also bought fertilizer recently, will be flagged. They may not STAY on a list, but do you really want to be considered for it?
I was there for that. One story that sticks with me is that of a gas tanker truck that was hijacked and never located.
Wishful thinking doesn’t get you anywhere.
Fine, whatever, disbelieve, I don't care. I just know if I don't have a legit reason (e.g., I own and run a farm far from a convenient fuel station), I am not risking bullk gas purchase or bulk fertilizer. or bulk ammo. Peace, and out.
Who need a watchlist when there's tiktok.
No it’s not, you think the FBI has every homeowner in the north on that list with home heating fuel? Stopping spreading BS lies
FYI: HOME HEATING OIL IS NOT AS VOLATILE AS GASOLINE OR DIESEL. My sources are: Congressional Hearings Dept Homeland Security; FBI; DHS; chemistry class. Oh, and all you need to get on a watchlist is a nomination by an agent.
Leo, home heating oil is diesel fuel. Just colored differently because you don’t pay certain highway taxes on it. Also, the explosive combination is diesel and fertilizer specifically because diesel is less volatile.
OK, now that you're done lecturing me? Home heating oil is not always just diesel with colorant. And since gasoline is more volatile ---- seeing where the point was? Also, FYI, not all HHO is just diesel. Some of it has oil added. These things vary by region. The BTU output is identical, that's true. I lived way up north and now in the US South. Got an education in HHO variations. And volatility of gasoline versus....
And, yes, diesel is slightly more volatile than HHO. Substitution can be done, but if you live in a super-cold climate, as I did as a kid, the diesel goes solid before home heating oil. So, while they're similar, they're not identical in all situatoins and locations.
Mostly fat people in pickup trucks.
I live in the South. By what I'm sure is 100% sheer coincidence, the vast majority of the people in my area who refuse to wear masks or get vaccinated look awfully similar to the people in these pictures. Again, I'm sure there's no connection in mentalities whatsoever. None.
Agreed. I also live in the US (not in the south) but the majority of covidiots and trumpers I've seen in my home state and in others almost look exactly like these people, completely regardless of class, age, where they live, etc.
They all literally look like pink pigs too.
Somebody should have told these people there was a vaccine shortage
👏👏👏👏👏
Since 9/11 in the US, and even since 1995 OK City bombing, that much fuel at once is a red flag to the ATF, FBI, et al. Which basically means a lot of these people just got put on a watchlist, for gas they won't even be able to use, and will try to sell, and then end up in prison and I'm really okay with that. I really am. .... Signed, saw this in the 1970s, that was an actual shortage
I am really surprised they were able to fill so many containers. In France, you can only fill the car reservoir. It is allowed to have a 20L jerrycan at home for mower or other appliances, or to transport in a 5L jerrycan for emergencies.
I was thinking the same, I am pretty sure you can't show up with a barrel at a German gas station, let alone filling it to the brim.
But in Germany you do not get shot when you try to stop an idiot from pumping insane amounts of gas.
This I had forgotten, Americans and their guns!
You totally can. A lot of road construction sites, gardeners and the like use 1000L containers to be able to refuel their tools on site. And they fill those containers at fas stations
It's not usual in the US, and many places discourage it ("one 5G can only") in normal times, but I suspect the mayhem was such that nobody cared to risk their life for US minimum wage and the honor of Big Petroleum.
My big thing was approved canisters... some lady was putting gas in a bag for heavens sake WHAT!!!! It may be just the crazees but are there laws about what you can put gas in?? coz most of these would be illegal in my environs...
@Monty, it's illegal in the US, too. About half the containers are. It's insane to me.
Why you guys so advanced in the most sensible ways? The US is so far behind 😭
This isnt common.
in america everything is different
At US stations, in my experience, you can only get so much before the pump stops. You then just begin a new transaction. I had a pickup truck that had a larger tank than could be filled by a single transaction, so I would have to use two transactions to fill the tank.
Same here. We do fill up 6 x 100L jerrycans for the lifeboat, but we always go to the same garage in the nearby town, usually in a marked up vehicle so they know who we are and what we're doing.
Free country.
Yes, same here. Petrol stations would never allow you to use a bag or a barrel
yeah well that's because of the whole don't tread on my rights to be a f*****g idiot concept in the US
Yes, excellent points. Also, I remember the gas shortage of the 70's too. I was a child, but I remember that people were assigned certain days that they were allowed to get gas. And I also remember seeing on TV the long lines of cars at gas stations.
Me too. In England we had to register with a local garage and could only go there to fill up.
Not that I want to encourage anyone’s explosives research here, but I thought it was buying lots of nitrogen-based fertilizer that should been a red flag for the OKC bombing, not gasoline?
@Katchen, Yes, fertilizer is the one we are all told about. However, ti required a lot of petroleum-based fuel to make that boom. And all it takes to go on a watchlist is one fed to nominate you, and they check your background. Are you violent? Affiliated with known or suspected terror organizations or funding for them? (Think: Unite the Right rally, 2017/ Januar 6, 2021 types). So, yeah, some of these folks, if they also bought fertilizer recently, will be flagged. They may not STAY on a list, but do you really want to be considered for it?
I was there for that. One story that sticks with me is that of a gas tanker truck that was hijacked and never located.
Wishful thinking doesn’t get you anywhere.
Fine, whatever, disbelieve, I don't care. I just know if I don't have a legit reason (e.g., I own and run a farm far from a convenient fuel station), I am not risking bullk gas purchase or bulk fertilizer. or bulk ammo. Peace, and out.
Who need a watchlist when there's tiktok.
No it’s not, you think the FBI has every homeowner in the north on that list with home heating fuel? Stopping spreading BS lies
FYI: HOME HEATING OIL IS NOT AS VOLATILE AS GASOLINE OR DIESEL. My sources are: Congressional Hearings Dept Homeland Security; FBI; DHS; chemistry class. Oh, and all you need to get on a watchlist is a nomination by an agent.
Leo, home heating oil is diesel fuel. Just colored differently because you don’t pay certain highway taxes on it. Also, the explosive combination is diesel and fertilizer specifically because diesel is less volatile.
OK, now that you're done lecturing me? Home heating oil is not always just diesel with colorant. And since gasoline is more volatile ---- seeing where the point was? Also, FYI, not all HHO is just diesel. Some of it has oil added. These things vary by region. The BTU output is identical, that's true. I lived way up north and now in the US South. Got an education in HHO variations. And volatility of gasoline versus....
And, yes, diesel is slightly more volatile than HHO. Substitution can be done, but if you live in a super-cold climate, as I did as a kid, the diesel goes solid before home heating oil. So, while they're similar, they're not identical in all situatoins and locations.
Mostly fat people in pickup trucks.
I live in the South. By what I'm sure is 100% sheer coincidence, the vast majority of the people in my area who refuse to wear masks or get vaccinated look awfully similar to the people in these pictures. Again, I'm sure there's no connection in mentalities whatsoever. None.
Agreed. I also live in the US (not in the south) but the majority of covidiots and trumpers I've seen in my home state and in others almost look exactly like these people, completely regardless of class, age, where they live, etc.
They all literally look like pink pigs too.