One of the joys of our society being totally reaction-driven. When the Alaska pipeline broke a couple weeks ago, all we heard about was how gas prices would go up. For the first time, the media started questioning why BP ignored regulatory agencies and employee suggestions and did nothing to prevent the problem. Then, the media questioned why Exxon-Mobil posted their second-highest profit ever in Q2 of 2006. Since then, gasoline prices have dropped steadily. Petroleum has seen exponential increases like this in the past and in most cases the price stabilized and then returned to a much lower level. The gas crisis of the late 70s is an example. Adjusted for inflation, prices then were still higher than they are today.

We are also our own worst enemies in this battle. In most cases, we don't need to drive the cars we do. A family of four doesn't need a Chevy Suburban, they want one. Millions sit in traffic every day by themselves in their car. If you think about how many cars would be taken off the road if everybody carpooled with a coworker that lived near them it's amazing how demand would drop. We are also living in a time of increaced consumption. Nobody repairs a TV anymore, they go to Wal-mart and buy a new one, disposing of the old one. Guess what that TV is likely constructed of? Petroleum-based plastics. The list goes on and on...