Gas Shortage - Rumor or Conspiracy?

by Nick Coons
Jan 7, 2004

Is there a gas shortage in Arizona

Arizona	(air-i'-ZON-u')
The State of Arizona comprises the extreme south-western portion of the United States. It is bounded on the north by Utah, on the east by New Mexico, on the south by Mexico, and on the west by California and Nevada.

? Of course not, but I figured the title would get your attention. And if you're ready this, then I was right. So now that you're reading this, let's put this to rest. No, the Kinder Morgan pipeline is not ruptured, and is not having any problems. Gas is flowing freely from Tucson to Phoenix and there are no problems whatsoever. The rumor was started by someone who heard a joke being broadcast over a police radio.

But this isn't to talk about the gas shortage rumor, something that by now we all know is a rumor. What's interesting is how quickly things like this spread. I've heard a saying before, "A person is smart, but people are stupid." To translate, this means that groups of people are blind when they are not thinking for themselves and follow the masses. When someone stops and thinks about whether or not something seems right, if it follows common sense, then they decisions and judgements they make are a lot more intelligent.

This, of course, is not to say that the people of Arizona

Arizona	(air-i'-ZON-u')
The State of Arizona comprises the extreme south-western portion of the United States. It is bounded on the north by Utah, on the east by New Mexico, on the south by Mexico, and on the west by California and Nevada.

are stupid. While large groups of people everywhere tend to make bad decisions, I would qualify that by saying that people in Arizona

Arizona	(air-i'-ZON-u')
The State of Arizona comprises the extreme south-western portion of the United States. It is bounded on the north by Utah, on the east by New Mexico, on the south by Mexico, and on the west by California and Nevada.

are some of the most individually intelligent people that I've ever talked to.

Now in defense of this whole gas shortage rumer, I will say that this particular rumor had an even greater impact because of the actual gas shortage last summer. This was definately a pain, and I do remember running around the valley trying to A) find a place that had gas, and B) find a place that wasn't going to rip me off.

But I would recommend to everyone everywhere to stop and think about things that they see and hear to find out if they make sense. In this case, it is the panic about a gas shortage that would be the very cause of such a gas shortage. And thinking about a joke rumor heard on a police scanner or radio program (on The Zone no less), is something an enlightened group of people can do to prevent problems for the entire state.