Originally Posted by aerospacepilot

$100/barrel. That's it! It is only going to go higher and higher and higher.

Blame the Saudi's. Blame the oil companies. Blame politicians. Blame speculators. Blame everyone who is responsible for this jump from $12/barrel to $100/barrel in just 10 years!!! And I blame them too!! But they are doing what is in their best interest... making money.


So let me tell you what is in our best interest (everyone else who lives in the US). Switch to alternative energy. My vote in the 2008 election is going to based solely upon who has the best stance on kicking the US addiction to oil (and I am not just talking about foreign oil, I am talking about oil...PERIOD!!!)

Jungle has a really extreme point of view... let the free market handle it. The fact is the free market is not always the best solution to a problem. If we let the "free market" handle energy prices, oil is only going to go to $200/$300/$400 a barrel until it runs out. It is only going to completely stop world economic growth in its track. If you cut the price of oil in half today, the economy would boom. It would go crazy like you have never seen before. Fixing the energy crisis can fix so many other important things (like the economy, the environment, help defense, etc..).

Someone needs to step in and lead the US into an economy powered by alternative fuels. The cheapest known way to power an automobile is using electricity. And electricity can come from sunlight, wind power, hydro power, biofuel, nuclear, or coal from right here in the United States. Why isn't EVERY car built in the US a plug-in hybrid? A $2,000 tax credit is not enough. How about a $10,000 tax credit for anyone who buys a plug-in hybrid. And for those that think that will cost the US billions in tax dollars...you are wrong. The result of millions of US citizens driving plug-in hybrid cars powered mostly by electricity will cause the economy to roar so much that all that money spend on tax credits will be made up for by additional economic spending and thus tax revenue (now that everyone a thousand extra dollars every year they DON'T need to spend on gas, and corporations save MILLIONS of energy costs which could be reinvested into growth).

But until the US does this, the price of oil is just going to go up and up and up. And honestly, I have started rooting for the price to increase. We need to switch. How about a little "free market" pressure. I personally think the "free market" will cause this to happen when oil is at about $250/barrel...But not before hurting tons of people and businesses, and completely destroying our economy as we know it.

Alternative fuels!!