Colby Fisher
Staff Writer
colby.fisher@hawks.shorter.edu
A recent gasoline pipeline leak has caused many local drivers to face challenges in nding fuel for their vehicles. According to theroot.com, “a gasoline pipeline that runs from Houston to New York ruptured 30 miles south of Birmingham, Alabama, leading to a major leak.”
Senior communication major Cheyenne Frady witnessed first- hand how the gas shortage has affected her roommate.
“My roommate is an education major, so she has to drive daily to the school of education to attend her classes,” said Frady. “She has had to walk from the main campus to the school of education because she hasn’t been able to fill up anywhere in Rome for a reasonable price.”
The spill, which was first detected Sept. 9, led to a gas shortage in Sept. 9, led to a gas shortage in Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, and the Carolinas. Drivers in these states have found pumps either completely dry or pumps priced extremely high. According to abcnews.com, “it’s unclear when the spill actually started.”
Colonial Pipeline is the company being held responsible for this incident. The company reported that 519 workers were involved in cleaning up the spill and that 336,000 gallons of fuel were leaked.
Fortunately, the spill occurred near a mining company’s retention pond in an isolated area south of Birmingham, meaning that Alabama’s Mobile Bay and the Cahaba River system were avoided and the lives of endangered species in the area were spared.
The gas shortage has proven to affect many students, including those wanting to travel home when they do not have classes. Sophomore biology major Jackson Carroll had trouble returning to his home in Dalton because of the gas shortage.
“I couldn’t fill up my tank anywhere in Rome before I left campus, so I got stuck in Calhoun on my way to Dalton,” said Carroll.
Carroll was late to an important event in Dalton because Calhoun’s gas stations were completely empty of gas.
According to theroot.com, “the threat of fuel shortages in the eastern U.S. prompted three governors to declare a state of emergency in order to keep fuel owing in the Southeastern states.” These governors include Gov. Pat McCrory of North Carolina, Gov. Nathan Deal of Georgia and Gov. Robert J. Bentley of Alabama.
Though the gas shortage has been an inconvenience for those who commute daily, it has also taught a lesson to sophomore computer information systems major Matty McHugh.
“The gas shortage has made me not want to drive so that I don’t waste the gas in my tank,” said McHugh. “Thinking about it now, I think that an event like this teaches us all that we could make a lot more unnecessary trips on the road, carpool more, and overall be more conservative with our gasoline usage.
