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Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Tuesday: The Great Atlanta Gas Hunt
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Listen to the talk of the town today, and it’s mostly about gas: where to find it, how much it costs, when we’ll get more of it and how we’re getting around without it.
Check back for the latest news and notes on the gas shortage in the Southeast, and look behind the links at the bottom for tips on hunting gas, saving gas and how to live without it. Share your woes and ideas for how to get around in the comments.
We can’t give you gas, but we can give you information in one tidy little package. The Great Atlanta Gas Hunt of ‘08 is on.
5:27 p.m. The pace of news is slowing and Twitter is quieting down Happy commuting, folks. See you in the morning!
5:05 p.m. Share a ride to an Atlanta Symphony Orchestra performance. The ASO is trying to draw an audience in whatever way they can, whether by carpool or MARTA. The link above leads to a ride-sharing site that can help ASO patrons to find other concertgoers in their neighborhood. The ASO also provides directions about how to get to performances via MARTA.
4:15 p.m. Gas shortage discussed on Talk of the Nation. Patrick Jonsson, a reporter in Atlanta for the Christian Science Monitor, explained the problem on the National Public Radio show today, along with folks in other states. It’s moments like this when I remember: Oh wait. Most of the country has the pain of high prices, but not the sucker punch of low supply.
3:23 p.m. Is the gas hunt really getting easier? We seem calmer, but it’s approaching commute time. Keep us updated about how it’s going, and if you see a particularly interesting scene, submit your photo to be published on AJC.com. Maybe on my way to work tomorrow, I’ll try to catch a photo of all the bikers along my route. Some looked a bit wobbly on two wheels, but I have to be proud of ‘em for making a go of it.
2:30 p.m. What’s the best way to fix a shortage? Tex Pitfield, president and CEO of Saraguay Petroleum in Atlanta said the governor’s office should’ve responded quicker. Chris Clark, executive director of the Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority, and Carol Couch, director of the environmental protection division at the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, said motorists should do their part. The discussion continues, but what do you think? Also: North Carolina’s Gov. Mike Easley blames oil firms for the gas shortage in his state.
2:07 p.m. Atlanta’s gas pipeline is at 100 percent, but… it’ll still be a week or two before things are back to normal, WSB reports. Thirteen of the 15 refineries knocked off line are back in operation, it just takes time for that gas to get here.
1:54 p.m. Football survived the gas shortage. Will NASCAR? It was a tough trip to Athens for some UGA fans this weekend. In Alabama, Talladega Superspeedway officials say they’re watching the gas levels and expect to have an ample supply of gasoline for the 150,000 people attending the Amp Energy 500 on Sunday. Are you changing your weekend plans because of gas shortages?
1:44 p.m. Gas lines shrinking, transit lines growing? Gwinnett and Cobb county transit both saw a surge in ridership on Monday. Gwinnett had one of its busiest days in history. “Just based on what we’re hearing from every bus driver, everything was pretty much loaded,” said Phil Boyd, director of Gwinnett County Transit.
1:40 p.m. Clayton police, fire are running low on gas. County officials say they’ve got enough to last through the weekend, but the situation is “serious.” They’ve said to stop using county vehicles for off-duty jobs, except for patrols at school sporting events and other after-school activities. (Huh. Didn’t realize they could use them for off-duty jobs.) They’re also skipping the lawn mowing.
12:45 p.m. Is premium the problem? We’re hearing from drivers that gas lines are getting shorter — ahh, relief! — but that premium gasoline is nowhere to be found. Let AJC reporter Stacy Shelton know what you’re paying for gas and whether the hunt for premium is the real challenge.
12:36 p.m. Gas deliveries, sent straight to your cell phone. I noticed this site listed on the ATLgas Twitter search. (Thanks, Gurnage!) GasNotify.com claims to send you a text message and e-mail when gas is delivered within a 10 mile radius of your ZIP code. Has anybody used it? Does it work?
12:24 p.m. It’s a shortage, sure, but is it an emergency? A story in Wednesday’s Atlanta Journal-Constitution will explain that the state has an energy emergency plan that leaders chose not to implement. (Check out pages 53-57 for the goods on gas shortage.) The gas shortage steps include pushing the conservation message through local governments and media outlets, setting up an odd-even schedule for gas purchases that discourages panic-buying and setting up temporary HOV lanes to encourage ride-sharing. Would you have wanted those measures in place, or do you think this will resolve itself? Tell us in the comments, or tell reporter Stacy Shelton.
12:16 p.m. Siphoning, the cheater’s way of getting gas. Maybe it’s tempting to just snake a little hose into the neighbor’s gas tank and avoid the hours of wait, but it’s also a crime. Kennesaw Police arrested Joshua Anderson and Florencio Elacio, and charged each with theft and having tools of a crime after they say they saw the pair pull a hose from a gas tank. Have you heard of or spotted any siphoning in your area? Also: Three charged with stealing gas from towing company in Asheville, N.C.
11:50 a.m.: Would you give up gas for biodiesel? A Sunday AJC story Bo Emerson tells the story of commuters like East Cobb resident John Knop, who runs his 1985 Mercedes 300SD on waste vegetable oil from local restaurants. It has its down sides — collecting and filtering old oil, tinkering with diesel engines, keeping a grease reservoir at home — but it’s not sounding so bad right now, is it?
10:50 a.m.: Gas prices - California, 1, Georgia, 0. For once, it’s cheaper there than in 15 other states. Could you blame them for gloating a little? They’ve long had higher prices than just about every other place. Watch closely, though: oil prices fell on Monday.
Drivers report shorter lines on Tuesday. AAA says we’ve still got two weeks of shortage ahead of us, but QuikTrip told WSB-TV that all of its stations will have gas by Wednesday. Of course, higher demand means the supply goes quicker. Gov. Sonny Perdue is on a trade mission in Spain, but issued a statement on Monday calling for the Department of Energy to release a significant amount of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. That crude oil would still have to be processed by refineries and shipped to the metro Atlanta market, though.
Like water for gasoline? Cobb County Commission and a prospective 2010 gubernatorial candidate Sam Olens suggests that the state ration gasoline on an odd-even basis. The plan would discourage residents from topping off every day, he says. U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson told The Marietta Daily Journal that the idea is a good one.
Gwinnett drivers discover the bus. Commuters were already packing Xpress buses as prices rose, but with the double whammy of high prices and short supply, well, as William Mecke, communications director for the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority put it ““It was pretty normal this morning. Now, pretty normal for us is just about full.”
Elizabeth Jackson of Midtown signals ‘all is good’ while filling up her car at the BP Station at North Avenue and Spring Street. See more photos.
Resources
Gas shortage Q&A for all the basics.
Atlanta’s gas Twitter for real-time updates from drivers.
Atlanta area gas prices provided by GasBuddy.com.
Fueling tips from the AJC Smart Spending blog.
Shortage talk, public transportation information and transit planners from the AJC’s Your Money.
Rookies Guide to Riding MARTA, a guide from AJC writers and readers.
105 tips to use less gas from EcoModder.
Scenes from a shortage, a photo gallery of gas hunters.
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