good topic to discuss

[mixxer]

Gas could fall to $2 if Congress acts, analysts say - MarketWatch

[nitro78]

hmmmm....if congress acts. nuff said.

[HHIslander]

hmmmm....if congress acts. nuff said.

lol....

something needs to happen, and quick.

[mingraygt]

I hope! Because this is getting to be a bunch of sh!@..

[f_bomb]

hmmmm....if congress acts. nuff said.

Yeah, when monkeys fly out my tailpipe...

I'll start holding my breath now...let me know when it gets to $3.00 ultra!

[ScottB]

this is speculation also ... but I agree that we need to do multiple things to bring the cost down.

[94LT1]

well the millitary took a hit because of fuel costs.i assume if it gets worse something is going to have to happen.also if our economy tanks it will effect the world since our country consumes a ton of stuff.

[f_bomb]

If congress would sign off on off shore drilling, the speculation alone would drive prices down. We wouldn't even have to extract that much oil (if any) to scare the oil companies into lower prices. Cuba is allowing China to drill off their coast, which isn't too far from ours.

It's pointless anyway, most of our politicians are getting their palms "oiled" by these ppl anyway...

</political rant>

[WindyCity]

That would be a huge relief ....however Americans would just go right back to their WAISTING ways with cheap oil and we will be in the same situation in a few more years. If oil prices come down we still need to continue with finding an alternative to foreign oil!

[Sevenrd]

No chance of prices dropping like that. There's some speculation built into the price of oil, but the underlying fundamentals are sound. This is a supply/demand issue of epic proportions.

In the face of massive growth from China and India, global oil production has been essentially stagnant for three years. More buyers + stagnant supply = higher prices. Ergo, this is a supply/demand issue:



So we need more supply. Where will it come from? We've been finding less and less oil for decades:



So unless a lot of new production comes online yesterday and/or severe demand destruction occurs, prices will continue to rise. A $5 gallon of gas will look like a bargain in a few years.

Here's a link to some current analysis on the issue:

The Oil Drum | Peak Oil Overview - June 2008 (Pdf and Powerpoint available)


And some media:

The Oil Drum | Peak Oil Media: "Humans > Yeast?", Moyers, Kunstler, Rubin, Olbermann & Krugman