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To: Alex who wrote (19987)	9/28/1998 5:36:00 PM
From: John Mansfield	Respond to of 116761

Y2k similar effects study 'Australian officials warn energy crisis could last months More than 1 million ordered to turn off gas September 27, 1998 Web posted at: 1:47 a.m. EDT (0547 GMT) MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) -- More than one million people were ordered Sunday to shut off the gas to their homes and businesses as a fire continued to burn at Victoria state's biggest gas facility. About 4,000 volunteers Sunday visited almost every Victorian home to tell residents to turn off their gas meters, as authorities warned the supply crisis could last months. A massive fire broke out Friday at the Esso gas plant about 110 miles (180 km) east of Melbourne, killing two people and injuring eight. The plant supplies 80 percent of Victoria's gas. More than 200 people are working around the clock to repair damage from the explosion and fire, which was still burning Sunday, though much smaller. Firefighters warned further gas leaks could restart a major fire. "The risk is very much diminished, but there is still an issue there of any other gas leaks in the area," Country Fire Authority spokesman John Tindall said. Police were on standby to enforce the order to switch off gas meters if households failed to comply, said David Guthrie-Jones, a spokesman for the state's main supply authority, VENCorp. If the gas supply grid empties and has to be shut down it will take weeks to clear air and water from the pipes and restart the grid, VENCorp said. Gas from neighboring New South Wales state was being fed into Victoria's grid in an effort to keep it open, and was supplying about 10 percent of normal requirements, the company said. Arson investigation launched Esso experts are flying in from overseas to inspect the facility and to determine the cause of the fire, corporate and external affairs manager Ron Webb said. "At this stage, it is too early to forecast on when gas production can be resumed safely," Webb said. Arson squad police were at the scene and would begin sifting through the debris as soon as it became accessible, a police spokesman said. An arson investigation was routine because deaths had occurred, said the spokesman, who requested anonymity. Police named the two dead men Sunday as maintenance supervisors John Francis Lowery and Peter Wilson. The Victorian Employers Chamber of Commerce and Industry predicted economic chaos unless supply resumed before Monday. "The damage is approaching the incalculable," chief executive officer David Edwards said Saturday. cnn.com

To: Alex who wrote (19987)	9/28/1998 5:39:00 PM
From: John Mansfield	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116761

'The banks are the key to everything If the banks go down when Y2K hits, civilization will collapse within a matter of days or weeks. If you find this statement to be alarmist and absurd, you don't understand the importance of banks in our society. Civilization as we know it could not exist without a means of payment, and banks fulfill that role. The entire division of labor (specialization of skills and the leveraging of expertise across populations) depends on a system of payment. If the banks stay solvent, we have a chance. If the banks don't make it, we start over, circa the 1800's. Will the banks make it? Nobody knows for sure. One thing for certain, though: if people become aware of the risks of fractional reserve banking, the banks WON'T make it. If only 6% of the people pull their money out of the banking system, the system collapses. So if you believe people can be kept in the dark about their money, and they won't get afraid and start pulling out cash, the banks might stay up. But if you think people will take out a little extra just to be sure, or start cashing their checks instead of depositing them, the banks are gone. ... y2ksupply.com