UK:Stiff upper lip no substitute for oil

greenspun.com : LUSENET : Grassroots Information Coordination Center (GICC) : One Thread

More specials STIFF UPPER LIPS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR OIL

A fuel crisis gives the British an opportunity to exercise their legendary pluck and resolve, Tribune correspondent... September 17, 2000

LONDON -- For a few scary, drama-filled days last week, Britain got a taste of what it would be like to live in a world without oil. And the speed with which one of the world's most powerful economies was brought to its knees by the sudden disappearance of gasoline proved little short of astonishing.

The highways fell eerily empty, and the roar of traffic that hangs over the city gave way to silence, as though the world had ended or war had broken out.

Military planners have long known that the best way to cripple a country is to go after its oil--hence the targeting of Serbia's oil refineries last year.

In this instance, a few hundred peaceful and largely unorganized civilian protesters shut down the British economy within a matter of days simply by standing outside the gates of the refineries.

The British love nothing more than the opportunity to display their stiff upper lips, and complaining ranks among the most popular national pastimes. Confronted with a crisis that gave them the chance to do both, they rose to the occasion.

In rural communities, those who own horses saddled up and clip-clopped to the shops to buy supplies. In one northern town, two men went into business ferrying people around in a sedan chair.

A mother made it to her son's wedding by hitching a ride with an old-fashioned, electric-powered milk float. Tradesmen stole supermarket trolleys to haul their gear around. City workers strapped kneepads over their suit pants and skated to work.

But there is a serious downside, as quickly became clear. Hospitals canceled non-emergency operations because they were running out of supplies. Schools in rural areas shut down. Businesses began laying off workers.

Ambulances cut back their services. Panic buying emptied supermarket shelves, and in some areas, bread and milk were rationed. Banks warned they were on the brink of running out of cash.

There was a ring of familiarity to it all. Wasn't this what the doomsayers had predicted would happen when the new millennium dawned?

The only difference seemed to be that this crisis was caused not by the presence of a high-tech computer bug but by the absence of a distinctly old-economy commodity.

And indeed, it all served as a jolting reminder of just how dependent we remain for just about every aspect of our survival on oil, despite all the talk of a "new economy" and the much-vaunted benefits of new technologies.

Internet shopping sites reported a huge surge in orders from housebound consumers who couldn't reach the stores. But what use is the Internet if there isn't any fuel for trucks to deliver the goods?

It would be no different in America if the oil ran out, for whatever reason. Without gas there would be no new economy nor even an old one. There would only be a preindustrial one, in which people ride horses or carry other people around on their shoulders. Had the blockade continued, even the trains would have ceased running by this weekend, because although some trains are powered by electricity, gasoline is needed to transport the workers who maintain the tracks.

Inevitably, all the drama provoked a burst of nostalgia for the 1970s, the last time Britons suffered chronic shortages truly worthy of complaint. Then, widespread labor unrest combined with the effects of the Arab oil embargo turned Britain into the laughingstock of Europe, a bankrupt nation of power cuts and bread lines that eventually had to crawl to the International Monetary Fund for a bailout.

But although the symptoms of this crisis were familiar, the causes were not. Britain is now one of Europe's most successful economies. A decade of Thatcherism wiped out the power of the labor unions. As the success of this homegrown oil blockade underscored, there is indeed a new economy now, and it is one in which the consumer is king.

Although those manning the blockades were truck drivers and farmers, they had the support of an overwhelming 91 percent of the British public, despite the inconvenience and despite the threat to the health of the economy. The remaining 9 percent are presumed to be those who don't own cars.

In the shift that has taken place from a manufacturing economy to a service-based one, power now rests with those who provide and consume the services. To do that, they need fuel for their cars--to drive to work, to run their businesses, to go to the gym, to shop at the mall. And they don't want to pay high prices for their gasoline.

Although the blockade has ended, it could take days or even weeks before the economy is back to normal. In the meantime, traffic is still light, and the city din hasn't returned to its usual levels. There would definitely be benefits to an oil-free world, though it is clear we wouldn't survive long without it.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/printedition/article/0,2669,SAV-0009170271,FF.html

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), September 17, 2000


Moderation questions? read the FAQ