Well--I was on quite a toot earlier. I guess it was pulling in my garage in my mostly environmentally friendly 4 cyl Mazda (which is a lease). I'm out of the whole ecological circuit right now--moved on (and away). Part of it was STRESS, and the buerocratic nighmare that is part of being a decent conservationist. But I digress.

Beardedbruce's post above is a great example of the vicious circles the energy industry finds itself caught up in. Interestingly enough (to me at least) is the fact that about 50% of the price of per-barrel oil is dictated by speculators...not supply and demand. What one has to hope for is that like the speculators who pushed dot coms waaaaaay beyond actual value will be having the same effect on the oil market. The big joke is that the market could be so overvalued right now, it could crash, and we'd drop back to a barrel being in the $30.00 range.

Meanwhile, the downside would be that the momentum toward hybrid vehicles, ethanol, wind and solar technologies will again be unattractive. Like Rosanne Rosannadanna said--"well, it just goes to show you it's always SOMETHING."