Getting Close to E

There's a gas shortage in Charlotte.

Here's my problem with that.

I live in Charlotte.

Most people are blaming somebody else for this problem and that's absolutely the wrong attitude to have. You must attempt to conserve during a shortage and last weekend, I drove to Boone. Had I not, I would not be getting close to empty.

This applies to everybody, some more than others. But, here is the fact. The Charlotte area got a bigger shipment of gas than normal on Friday. So why are many stations out of gas?

Because we bought it all, moron.

I try to avoid making ad hominem attacks. But, sometimes that shoe fits. The Charlotte Observer obviously is covering this event and the individual they interviewed for a story points out the problem. Now, he doesn't say what the problem is, he represents the problem. This individual came to Charlotte from Columbia, SC to visit for the weekend and ran out of gas. Then, he complained that he had to walk to a gas station.

If we are going to continue to use gas when we do not need it and then complain about walking, we will never solve this problem.

There is one person I believe who deserves to be commended in all of this. That is Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory. Many have criticized him for not doing more in this situation. But, there is only one thing a mayor can do in this situation, give good advice. He has done that. He told people not top off almost full tanks, not to fill up gas cans, and to conserve as much as possible. Its not his fault if you don't listen. He also has worked hard to bring a better mass transit system to Charlotte. The light rail can alleviate a lot of this problem. It can help more, as it gets expanded.

I do have two issues with the mayor however. First, is his criticism of the media. Its true that the Charlotte media may have facilitated a panic mode but, they did their job. Gas stations running out of gas is a huge story so, they reported on it. That is not irresponsible. Irresponsible, are the people who panic.

Second, McCrory has used this issue to encourage more off-shore drilling. The shortage began as a result of a hurricane. A hurricane that hit what? Off-shore oil rigs and the refineries on the coast. How will relying more on off-shore oil help us? It'll only cripple us further during hurricane season.

Bottom Line? I actually do need gas, either today or tomorrow, so wish me luck. Also, I may vote for Pat McCrory for governor, because I believe this off-shore oil issue is just an election year stunt and will never lead to actual drilling. But, my mind isn't made up, more on that later.

Rabbit