Other Issues to Consider

When people think about the fallout from high energy prices, they tend to focus on the more obvious concerns. Like individuals who can't afford to drive to work or get to the store. Or businesses that are struggling with higher costs. Or municipalities that are having a hard time covering the cost of fuel for police cars and school buses. But there are also other issues that many might not have considered. In "Thieves Will Steal the Gas from your Tank and Parts, too," the Modesto Bee's Claudia Newcorn writes about one of them.

When I aspirated gasoline, I thought I'd swallowed pure alcohol. It burned on the way down, and I burped the vile taste for days. The doctor said I was lucky I hadn't damaged my esophagus and stomach, and that he was seeing a lot of that.

I'm not talking about now -- I'm talking about 1974 and again in 1980, when the nation fell into gas rationing, and gas wasn't to be had without long lines and restrictions. We lived in Connecticut, where we were allowed to buy gas on alternating days. My mother needed gas for a trip; I was trying to siphon some from my tank to put in hers.

Today, stolen gas stories keep popping up in The Bee. What startles me is how much more drastic the stealing has gotten. People also are puncturing gas tanks to steal gas, sometimes with disastrous consequences.

That didn't happen back when. Locking gas caps were rare, and drivers would simply find their gas cover open and then, checking the fuel gauge, discover they'd been had.

Stealing today extends beyond punctured gas tanks.

A colleague had the catalytic converter literally cut from underneath her SUV. The thieves had slid under, sliced it out and vanished into the night. The auto repair shop told her that they're being sold as scrap or possibly for the precious metals in them. The height of the SUVs and trucks makes them easy targets for such thefts.

Our nation's guzzling of gas has come back to bite us in the backside. As gas prices continue to leap upward and devour our dollars, people in Stanislaus County are losing jobs, retailers have seen a drop in spending, and restaurants are imploding like collapsed souffles.

For all intents and purposes, vehicles have become traveling ATMs for thieves -- a source of gas, metals, DVD players, stuff left in the back seats, and the list goes on. I'm afraid as we sink into a recession -- which I believe our region already has entered -- the situation is likely to get worse, possibly shoving us back to the dubious honor of the nation's car theft capital.

Take a lesson from my colleague: Your only defense is a smart offense.

First, recognize that this is reality. Your vehicle, particularly those high on their tires, are potential targets and should be protected.

Park in your garage if at all possible, or at least in the driveway, and determine how to pull into the driveway to minimize access to your gas tank. Install a motion-detector light over the driveway to help deter would-be thieves. Make sure your insurance covers such thefts as catalytic converters and other parts of your car, to minimize your out-of-pocket expenses if you do get hit. Practice the rule of "don't make it easy to be a victim."

Comments

[Susan]

A few years ago I acquired the geeky hobby of studying historical financial patterns from around the world and comparing them with current patterns.

What I saw scared the s*** out of me! A couple of years ago everybody I talked to about it was polite, and smiled and played along. But clearly thought "WOW - she has gone pretty fringe!".

And now, the very clear patterns which I pointed out are playing out the same way in their endgame as is inevitable.

But I'll tell you, I get no ego satisfaction from having called it a couple of years ago. I have kids, and I'm pretty stressed about their future.

Let me add: once we saw what was coming, we got completely out of debt, we have a farm, with horses to work the land with. We are VERY self reliant.

But I fear my fellow citizens. I think that even the nicest people, when they are starving and scared will have no problem using a gun to take our food from us.

I think America is headed towards a far darker time than the Great Depression. Back then we were a still a lean, mean, fighting machine. Not a porcine, TV lobotomized bunch of superstitious twits!

Good luck to all of us! Remember, if its YOU against the WORLD - the world will win! The Mad Max, Guns n' MRI's survival tactic is shortlived. Make friends with your neighbors, only through community and cooperation will we ride this out without it turning into a gigantic pool of blood and lead!

[Fu]

There was a CNN video story about people returning U-Haul rentals with water in the gas tanks. Also there were other theives who would break into the U-Haul lot to puncture and drain the gas tank.