Are Gas Shortages Coming to America?By Daisy Luther An unexpected fuel crisis has hit Canada. According to a Canadian blogger and author, not one, but two, fuel tankers were inexplicably delayed last week, and shortages ensued alarmingly quickly, with numerous gas stations running completely out of fuel within a matter of days. Marie Beausoleil wrote: The delay was long enough that gas stations across Nova Scotia ran out of gas, even with a week of rationing. The gas stations knew the tankers were going to be late and starting rationing in advance. By Thursday, storage tanks in the city of Dartmouth were empty. The tankers arrived on Friday and started the process of unloading. By Saturday the shortage had spread to the smaller communities, the less busy gas stations. By Sunday evening, motorists across the province were stranded and Out of gas signs were everywhere. It would take, people were warned, at least a week to get all service stations filled across the province (and if youre not familiar with it, Nova Scotia is a very small place!) (Check out the rest of the article HERE) If you couple a potential fuel shortage with the dramatic instability of the US stock market, it sure doesnt paint a sunny forecast for the American economy. A major fuel shortage could send epic economic shockwaves across the country, since our economy is based on cheap oil. Lots of people like to shake their heads and say, Oh, this wont hurt me at all. Thats pretty shortsighted, because a fuel shortage will affect EVERYONE. CDL Life News recently published this alarming infographic. Many people are watching the news and feeling much better about our economic situation as the talking heads espouse platitudes, but its important to note that the government doesnt want a panic. A central banking economist has flat out recommended that the general public be lied to about the depth of the global economic crisis, saying that banking supervisors should withhold some information when they publish stress test results to prevent both bank runs and excessive risk taking by lenders. Unless you are collecting your own information and watching the markets, the price and availability of oil, and the fate of the American dollar, you run an extremely high risk of being deceived with warm and encouraging platitudes. If you wait until there are long lines and empty pumps, youve waited too long to prep for fuel shortages. Learn everything you need to know about general preparedness in this compendium that must be on every serious preppers bookshelf. Take the following 7 steps to preempt the crisis before it occurs. 1- Stock up on food and supplies. If you havent begun to create a stockpile of food and supplies, you need to get on the ball. Check out this article for how to build a 30-day emergency food supply quickly, and this book to learn how to build your stockpile on a tight budget. 2- Stock up on water and figure out a secondary source. As you can see in the infographic above, a breakdown of the transportation system will begin to strongly affect the municipal water supply within two weeks. Learn about water in this series and keep all of the information you need about water acquisition, storage, and purification close at hand with this book. Its not just enough to stockpile water, though. You need to find a secondary supply, whether its a nearby body of water, a well, or a spring. 3- Get your personal finances in order. You dont want to be in debt if economic disaster strikes. If youve paid off the majority of your debt, invest your money into tangible goods like food, supplies, seeds, and precious metals. Check out this financial guide for preppers. 4- Switch to local products. Stop focusing on products that have their origins in China or the tropics. Learn to live on things produced in your area. Start getting to know your neighbors, local artisans, and farmers, so that you can begin to build a community network. For centuries, our needs were mostly met within 50 miles from our homes. Its time to get back to local economies. 5- Learn to produce what you need to survive. While no person is an island, theres a lot you can do to become more self-reliant. Homesteading, gardening, raising small livestock, preserving food, sewing, mending, healing, hunting, and building are all skills that have nearly been lost. Revive them and youll do far better in the event of an economic collapse. 6- Store fuel. If you live somewhere that you can safely store fuel, you should buy as much as you can safely store. It will be worth its weight in gold should a fuel shortage occur. (Follow these guidelines for storing it safely.) Always keep your vehicles reservoirs filled above half a tank so that you can delay the long lines at the pumps for as long as possible. 7 Be prepared to defend your family and property. When sources of supplies become scarce, you can bet on the fact that those who didnt prepare will be coming after the supplies of those who did. First, be very careful about letting others know that youve prepared. (OPSEC!!!! (OPerational SECurity). Loose lips sink ships, and people wont come looking for things if they dont know you have them. Second, if the economic SHTF does occur, be ready to protect your family and your supplies.This means that to be prepared, you absolutely must be armed. This article can help and this book goes more in depth on the subject. If the transportation system grinds to a halt, so too will our economy. The trucks, boats, and planes that carry our goods wont be going anywhere without fuel to get the items to the consumers. Gas shortages are a very big deal. Are you prepared for a local economy? What steps do you recommend to help others get ready? Hat tip to the Just Plain Marie blog Image Credit Please feel free to share any information from this site in part or in full, leaving all links intact, giving credit to the author and including a link to this website and the following bio. Daisy Luther lives on a small organic homestead in Northern California. She is the author of The Organic Canner, The Pantry Primer: A Preppers Guide to Whole Food on a Half-Price Budget, and The Preppers Water Survival Guide: Harvest, Treat, and Store Your Most Vital Resource. On her website, The Organic Prepper, Daisy uses her background in alternative journalism to provide a unique perspective on health and preparedness, and offers a path of rational anarchy against a system that will leave us broke, unhealthy, and enslaved if we comply. Daisys articles are widely republished throughout alternative media. You can follow her on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. Thats only because most of Canada relies on Alberta oil for fuel. Extracting tar sands oil costs the companies close to $75CAD/bbl to produce. With oil now selling for around $40CAD/bbl on the world markets, its not worth their trouble to destroy the environment. Do you know just how many tankers travel to and fro North America? Let alone, were there a delay for some reason that would cause a major disruption (war, closure of the Panama and/or Suez canals, to think of a few), there is such a thing as the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Though its intended for military and critical Government needs, the President can, with an emergency Executive Order, release some of it into the civilian sector. This article is garbage. The market for fossil fuels is remarkably responsive to fluctuations in demand and supply. Of course, PRICE also fluctuates, with nary a complaint if downward However, amen ALWAYS about stocking up on water. Especially when its going for $2.00 $2.50 for a 24pk of 500 ml plastic bottles full. One case will keep an adult reasonably hydrated for a week, or about four days in hot weather. Readily portable and sanitary. Against my otherwise Libertarian beliefs, Id make it law to require every family to have at least two weeks worth on hand, and a case in each vehicle on top of that. War (or terrorism), disease outbreak, floods, etc. the biggest hassle is potable water. Be independent! 