The Great 'Gas Out' of 1999
Netlore Archive: We, the people of the United States, are out to prove that our chain letters are more powerful than OPEC!
Description: Email protest
Circulating since: March 1999
Status: Pointless
Email example contributed by G. Bishop, 31 March 1999:
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Subject: FW: Gas Out April 30th FWD
THE GREAT "GAS OUT" It's time we did something about the price of gasoline in America! We are all sick and tired of high prices when there are literally millions of gallons in storage. |
Comments: Sheer lunacy! Can somebody explain to me how buying gas on Thursday or Saturday instead of Friday will make the least little dent in the oil companies' pocketbooks? The author of this message claims to have "found out" that these big corporations would suffer from a one-day boycott, but I, for one, am waiting to see the source of that information.
It doesn't even make sense as a gesture of protest. Perhaps we could all send a message if we refused to drive on a certain day thereby consuming less gasoline), but even then a 24-hour drop in the demand for gasoline would amount to little more than a blip on the oil producers' spreadsheets.
And we'd still have to run our errands another day.
It's ironic that this protest should arise in the United States, where gasoline prices remain lower, on balance, than just about everywhere else in the world. And more than a little myopic.
Members of OPEC and other oil-producing countries did agree on March 23, 1999 to cut back production by a total of 2.1 million barrels per day beginning April 1 to bolster prices, which are already rising in anticipation of shortened supplies. According to CNN, California has been particularly hard-hit because of recent refinery explosions there. Small wonder that the Gas Out idea is most popular on the west coast. Some readers are telling me they plan on participating whether it makes sense to the rest of the world or not.
The charm of the chain letter, which is being widely forwarded as I write, is that it fosters the illusion that "We, the People" can somehow directly affect this global situation through a painless gestures like forwarding an email to all our friends and avoiding the gas pumps on April 30.
I hate to be the one to break the news, but... no, we can't. Not in a single day.
Updates:
Reader Responses
Looks like I'm in the minority...GAS OUT 2000
One year later. If at first you don't succeed...Gas Boycott 2001
Try, try again...2002: Boycott Middle East Oil to Stop Terrorism!
Are YOU putting U.S. dollars in terrorists' pockets?
