Photo: Megan Varner (Getty Images)
Americans are a panicky bunch, and the latest thing to set them off is the Colonial pipeline hack. Reports of the
possibility of gas shortages have sent people streaming to gas stations, engaging in hand-to-hand combat, and maybe even filling bags with gas. (????) All this hoarding has created actual gas shortages.
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Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm likened it to “hoarding toilet paper at the beginning of the pandemic.” And lo and behold, the Colonial pipeline was back online by Wednesday evening, bringing an end to this semi-national nightmare. In many ways, the crash and hoarding episode represents the failings of our current transportation system—and provides a warning for how not to repeat them as we transition to an electrified future.