The vast majority of the population has never heard of TB2000 and has very little knowledge of Y2K. What their companies do is business, things that go on at work. Things to be forgotten about at quitting time.

But what their company does can give clues as to what is actually happening or has happened concerning Y2K and the oil situation.

Talking with a person working for a large air line about oil prices and he mentions that the air line stock piled one years supply of gas and maintainence oils before the end of last year.

My wife called a friend back in Cleveland, Ohio where you used to live and she learned that the company she had worked for has 6 months of gasoline stored. Bettcher, corp. took Y2K seriously enough to have 6 months of supplies on hand.

How many other companies did this? Probably not all and probably more than one. But it is an indication that some companies were worried. These facts also add to my concerns about oil. If the supply of oil is low and there are companies using their stock piles then when their stock piles are depleted the demand for gas will increase more.

This could mean that what ever the demand is for gasoline it is artifical because some companies are using stock piles and not buying gasoline now. This could indicate that the problem with gasoline products supply is worse than we know.

Anyone out there with knowledge of what any other companies are doing? Opinions?

-- Mr. Pinochle (pinochledd@aol.com), March 01, 2000

Answers

I know of a mid-size environmental consulting firm in the Midwest whose #2 and #3 took Y2K VERY seriously, to the point of having deliberately decided whether or not to try to change their line of business before post-rollover changes made that field a total disaster to be in. (They decided to simply stay in it until things fell apart, and then walk away from it.) No, I won't give you the name of the company.

-- MinnesotaSmith (y2ksafeminnesota@hotmail.com), March 01, 2000.

Mr. Pinochle..... I remember assurances from before the rollover that many industries were taking precautionary measures, inc. fuel. My little borough of 8000 folks stored a month of fuel to pump its 12 wells and run the sewage treatment with generators, and the borough manager said many municipalities were making similar contingency plans. I found your post very interesting. However, I wonder if industry stockpiling is more than a drop in the bucket when compared to what all the autos on the road use regularly.

It will be interesting to see what the gasoline situation is like this summer. We are planning to be able to survive without driving for couple months....hope it doesn't come to that, but if it does it would be useful to have a good stash of preps in the basement...get your supersoakers early for the kids!

-- sure (appreciate@my.wheels!), March 01, 2000.