On Wed, 27 Feb 2008 17:33:08 -0800 (PST), "Jerry G."
wrote:

It is very likely, the crude oil price per barrel may get up to about
$120 to $140 by the mid or end of the summer. The reasons are many.
This means that the price of fuel will most likely rise by at least
another 20%. There are futures contracts out on crude oil for a price
point of $200 per barrel by year 2010.

The price of oil is rising faster than the normal rate of inflation.
This will contribute to the cost of most everything we have. The rate
of infation will be difficult to keep up with.

One of the causes for all of this is from the massive out-sourcing of
manufacturing in foreign countries to have lower labour cost, and from
letting our society become more dependend on other countries for
energy and materials.

From all that is going on, North America and most of Europe will
become a third world economy. We will no longer be able to afford to
live at the standard of living that we are used to. It will take a
very big change of attitude and the way of doing things to fix the
problem.

What we won't be able to afford is wasting energy as senselessly as we
do now. The average USian could cut his energy use in half without
extreme distress.

The main cause of the energy shortage is the fact that the Chinese,
the Indians, the Africans, and the South Americans are increasing both
population and per-capita energy use. Imagine if every family in India
and every family in China had central heating and a car.

We have something they don't: an enormous capacity to make food.

John