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