It's 1974 all over again

Good grief.  People are panicking around here.

There's a rumor going around that we're about to run out of gasoline, not to mention that prices are running nearly $3 per gallon--and prices here are always lower than the national average.

What I do know is that the EPA administrator has substantially relaxed volatility standards for gasoline and sulfur standards for diesel fuel (temporarily, of course, until about mid-September) specifically to give distribution a kick in the pants, so that should help within a few days.  And while I have less than a half-tank in my car, that should last me three or four days (it's a small car, manual transmission, with A/C that doesn't work, so I get pretty good mileage).

But there are lines at the gas stations around here like I haven't seen since 1974.  While I was just 18 then, I remember the gas shortages like they were yesterday.  And I refuse to participate in the panic--I'll buy gas when I need to, not before.

But watch for environmentalist groups to howl about standards being temporarily reduced, like that's going to doom the earth or something.  If this isn't proof that we need more refineries, nothing is--but there are those so opposed to the advance of civilization (yes, that's exactly what I think environmental groups are basically all about) that this will be very difficult to accomplish.

UPDATE:  Well, it's three days later and I haven't heard about any howling from environmentalists about the gasoline standards, so it looks like I may have been wrong.  Then again, maybe they're just too busy blaming Katrina on Bush's not signing Kyoto or some such irrational nonsense.  I guess they think they'll get more political mileage (ack!--no pun intended, I think) out of that strategy than by attacking something that gets more gasoline out to the people who need it.