Andy D'Agorne

So there is enough petrol for everyone despite the strike and shutting down of a third of UK supplies, as long as motorists dont panic buy...  So have the ration coupons (sorry, swipecards) been prepared yet? What about car sharing and a national 50mph limit like we had in 1973 in the first oil crisis??

It is not fuel for the average commuter we need to worry about, but for the nurse, engineer, etc as well as the delivery vehicles that keep our food supplies stocked. Perhaps the government learned from the 2001 fuel protests... or perhaps not. I hope the refinery workers manage to hang onto their final salary scheme, but their action has helped to highlight our complacency over peak oil and the importance of developing local energy and food for national security in the future.

Here's a statement from Caroline Lucas Green MEP on the issue:

Dr. Lucas, whose 2006 report 'Fuelling a Food Crisis' examined the dependence of the EU's food supplies on oil (2), said:

"In 2006, I asked several Government ministries what steps they were taking to prepare for a decrease in national fuel supplies. None of the organisations contacted gave a serious response: the DTI and Cabinet Office both refusing to answer the question, ridiculously citing restrictions under the Freedom of Information Act. The panicked words from John Hutton suggests that the Government is ill prepared for any sudden drop in fuel supplies, and such incompetent behaviour endangers us all.

"Only the Green Party has the initiatives and policies that would protect the British public from suffering the consequences of a sudden decrease in fuel supplies.

"Our proposed national free insulation policy would ensure that homeowners can warm their homes for a fraction of the domestic fuel needed in uninsulated homes, and the Green Party policy to shift the UK towards a sustainable energy economy would mean that our homes' energy would be increasingly off-grid, readily available and not dependent on fossil fuel supply.

"Crucially, only the Green Party supports locally sourced food production, ensuring food security for communities is not dependent on long haul transport and the whims of the fuel market.(3)

Notes to Editors

1. commentisfree.guardian.co.uk 2. http://www.carolinelucasmep.org.uk/2006/12/08/fuelling-a-food-crisis/ 3. http://www.greenparty.org.uk/news/2816