President George W. Bush's call for the US public to conserve energy is aimed at preventing a run on petrol at a time when the US is precariously short of it.

Energy companies have been trucking fuel in from various parts of the US to restock pumps that ran dry in Texas, following two hurricanes that struck the heart of the nation's energy infrastructure and a massive evacuation that cut into much-needed supplies. This has stretched already tight national petrol supplies.