World News and Trends: Europe's fuel shortage
Conditions are virtually back to normal, but just a short while ago newspapers devoted page after page to the fuel shortage in Britain and several other European nations. The problem began in France and spread from there to other countries.
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.
An Article from:
Good News Magazine: November - December 2000
Course Content
Scott Ashley
Scott Ashley was managing editor of Beyond Today magazine, United Church of God booklets and its printed Bible Study Course until his retirement in 2023. He also pastored three congregations in Colorado for 10 years from 2011-2021. He and his wife, Connie, live near Denver, Colorado.
Mr. Ashley attended Ambassador College in Big Sandy, Texas, graduating in 1976 with a theology major and minors in journalism and speech. It was there that he first became interested in publishing, an industry in which he worked for 50 years.
During his career, he has worked for several publishing companies in various capacities. He was employed by the United Church of God from 1995-2023, overseeing the planning, writing, editing, reviewing and production of Beyond Today magazine, several dozen booklets/study guides and a Bible study course covering major biblical teachings. His special interests are the Bible, archaeology, biblical culture, history and the Middle East.
John Ross Schroeder
John died on March 8, 2014, in Oxford, England, four days after suffering cardiac arrest while returning home from a press event in London. John was 77 and still going strong.
Some of John's work for The Good News appeared under his byline, but much didn't. He wrote more than a thousand articles over the years, but also wrote the Questions and Answers section of the magazine, compiled our Letters From Our Readers, and wrote many of the items in the Current Events and Trends section. He also contributed greatly to a number of our study guides and Bible Study Course lessons. His writing has touched the lives of literally millions of people over the years.
John traveled widely over the years as an accredited journalist, especially in Europe. His knowledge of European and Middle East history added a great deal to his articles on history and Bible prophecy.
In his later years he also pastored congregations in Northern Ireland and East Sussex, and that experience added another dimension to his writing. He and his wife Jan were an effective team in our British Isles office near their home.
John was a humble servant who dedicated his life to sharing the gospel—the good news—of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God to all the world, and his work was known to readers in nearly every country of the world.
Melvin Rhodes
Melvin Rhodes is a member of the United Church of God congregation in Lansing, Michigan.
