Gas Shortages Cause Local Blood Pressure to Rise

Created by Dorian Horvat, Broadcast Editor|Published on May 12, 2021|136 Views

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Will All Students be Returning to Virtual Learning?

by Dorian Horvat

May 12, 2021

Students have just returned to in-person learning. Yet, due to a major cybercriminal attack leading to a severe gas shortage, some people fear that they could be returning to all-virtual classes as soon as next week.

The Colonial Pipeline is the main gasoline supplier in the United States. The pipeline exports 2.5 million barrels a day, about 45 percent of the East Coast’s diesel, gasoline, and jet fuel supply. The Colonial Pipeline system was closed on Friday after hackers, believed to be from Russia, breached servers and encrypted files, requesting a fee to restore access.

“Our goal is to make money and not create problems for society,” DarkSide wrote on its website.

As of May 12th, 2021 at 4:30 pm, news sources say over 40% of the gas stations in Virginia are left without gas. This is definitely not an exaggeration; Journalism Club’s adviser, Ms. Grillo experienced the shortage firsthand.

“After driving past two gas stations with signs that read ‘Sorry No Gas’, I thought I struck gold with the third one I found. I waited patiently in line for 45 minutes. The cars were weaving in and out of the parking lot, and overflowing into the main road, causing a traffic buildup in a normally void area. After getting about half-way through the line, I noticed cars started dispersing at a rapid rate. My fear became a reality when my last option had also run out of gas. This happened Wednesday after school. I hope the situation gets fixed quickly, or I’m worried about running out of gas before next week.”

This means that transportation to and from school could be a lot tougher and at the very least, more costly. Could this lead to in-person learning shutting down just ten weeks after it resumed? We’ll just have to wait and see. FCPS has not made any announcements and does not seem to be concerned.

Unfortunately, the situation may not change in the near future since Colonial Pipeline will not pay the ransom money, according to people familiar with the situation.

The only positive out of this is that environment-friendly transportation like bicycles will likely experience a rise. Biden will be meeting with President Putin to discuss resolutions.

Photo Credit: Ms. Marina Jackson, Glasgow MS History 6