Yes. It is coming to a gas pump near you, the pricing impact of $100 per barrel OIL. It will hit us by 2Q 2010 and will negatively effect our troubled economy in a big way.
As of this writing oil is sitting at $73.96/bbl. The economies in other countries seem to be showing some signs of recovery. In particular, the emerging economies of the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) are again on a forward growth path. Consequently, demand for oil is rising and the price is rising along side this increased demand. Not only will we feel a price impact at the pump, but prices for other products derived from our petro-chemical industries will also rise. We will certainly feel it in the plastic products we buy and other distillate products we use.
What has our government in Washington, DC done since Oil hit the $147/bbl mark last year? Not much. Oh, there was some elements of the so-called stimulus plan that may help, a little. But for the most part all that has emanated from Washington, DC has been a lot of hot air. [Now if only we could harness this hot air, we could heat the Capitol building for a decade]. Since oil prices dropped below $60/bbl it has been business as usual. Now they are on the rise.
Washington should lead by example and convert all government vehicles to alternative energy sources. Since the Post Office is running such a significant deficit, this should be the first quasi-agency to go alternative. All of their trucks and delivery vehicles could convert to CNG (compressed natural gas) or LNG (liquid natural gas) as a fuel source.
Additional tax incentives should be put in place to encourage private sector businesses to convert to alternative fuel sources thereby reducing our reliance on foreign oil. To sit and emit hot air on this issue will only cause greater harm to our country.
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