Article: http://money.cnn.com/2017/08/31/news/hurricane-harvey-gas-dallas/index.html
Hurricane Harvey undoubtedly caused a lot of issues for Texas, and it will take quite some time until those issues are resolved. However, could the gas crisis that people are facing in Dallas been prevented? This answer appears to be complicated.
According to the article, petroleum analysts believe this problem could have been avoided if people conserved the gas they had and waited to get more gas until they actually needed it. When Texans heard that gas production had been disrupted, they immediately went to fill their tanks in fears of running out of fuel. Though this fear seems rational, it didn't have to become a reality. It is argued that if people waited until they needed gas to refuel their tanks, then there wouldn't have been a sudden spike in demand that would drain most local supplies. Additionally, this unexpected demand caused businesses to increase their prices for gasoline due to their limited on-hand supply.
During a disaster, the idea of conserving rather than bulk-buying seems easier said than done. With the threat of such a devastating hurricane, people are naturally going to be scared of running out of things they need the most to survive. So the question becomes, how do you keep people from panicking about their limited stockpile of resources during an emergency? Two possible remedies for this question are: regulated rations by the government, and temporary living communities with shared resources. However, are these two concepts realistic to prevent a panic? If so, how would they be implemented? Are there other ideas that would be more realistic? Or is attempting to prevent a panic on this scale an improbable task? I am interested to see what you guys think of this issue.
Duncan Copeland
A government regulation could be used to help slow down the panic consumption of fuel and other resources people need. The only problem is how much regulation is necessary, because too much could mean people get upset and try and fight back against the government regulation. Another problem is Texas has many oil rigs and natural gas drilling facilities. Due to the flooding this has shut down many of the oil rigs and natural gas drilling facilities causing a shortage in supply, which could be another reason why people were rushing to buy fuel.
ReplyDeleteThe market itself could also stop the consumption of gas by price gouging. I have friend in San Antonio that wished that stations would price gouge to prevent people from hoarding gas and just buying it until it runs out like most people did after the hurricane hit. Many people view price gouging as immoral, but it is truly just a response to supply and demand.
ReplyDeleteIn the case of a natural disaster like this it seems like it would be an improbable task to try to prevent people from panicking. Unfortunately, people panic and do whatever they can to help themselves without worrying about others. However, if everyone would agree to following a government regulation it might work. It's difficult for the government to set a regulation like this because some people might need more gas than others. Also, the regulations would have to be implemented awhile before the disaster occurred to give people time to plan.
ReplyDeleteLike Andrew said, panic is unavoidable. However, I believe rationing the fuel and transporting the remainder elsewhere would work. This would make the civilians comfortable that fuel will be readily available once the flooding ends. It is difficult to prepare perfectly for such devastating events but Dallas could have had a better plan. The government should have hurricane relief/support plans for natural resources; this would help make these people recover quicker (and feel better).
ReplyDeleteIt would be very difficult for the government to create such regulations for times of panic (especially in the case of a natural disaster). I believe the community with shared resources is more realistic, but in some ways is still a pipe dream in terms of sharing gasoline. The gasoline will still be in very high demand if it were to be purchased for these "communities" so this option may not necessarily keep prices from rising.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Drew that a government regulation could work. In situations where there is a power outage, many states will issue mandatory conversation measures for that area. Although a power outage causes less of a panic than a hurricane, I think the idea behind it is one that could be molded to fit the panic and need in the situation of a hurricane approaching.
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