Pictures of empty gasoline stations appeared everywhere in the news. With protesters blockading fuel movements, countries were fast grinding to a halt, and food shortages threatened.

What should we learn from this? One of the disturbing realities is how fast things can grind to a halt when a resource as important as petroleum stops flowing. If nothing is done to remedy the situation, a nation soon runs out of its vital supplies, and monetary costs quickly mount into the millions.

The protest problem may not be over-not only because of restricted market supplies of oil, but perhaps because of the exorbitant taxes on gasoline, particularly in Europe. People whose lives depend at least in part on the free flow of liquid black gold are fed up with high prices at the pump. Increasing environmental regulations that restrict petroleum-related exploration, development, refinement and transportation compound the problem.