fueling life

I just read an interesting article from The Economist. Sometimes it's hard to see outside of a situation; say, rising fuel costs. I have a bit of a luxury in not driving my car right now, but can definitely relate to having to fill up for nearly $4 when I'm paying for a tank of gas for Laura's car.

This article challenges the reader to think past "relief" and towards what might come of the prices. The author goes beyond the issue of whether there is or is not enough oil in the ground and who's allocating it at what price to others.

I tend to agree with most of this writing. We should think beyond our personal need for a few minutes and consider a couple other angles of the issue. Higher fuel costs are not friendly to anyone who has a car, but I am excited to see where this pressure puts the state of technology and sustainable energy in the next five or ten years. There are an amazing number of projects and prototypes in development or fresh on the market. If big oil is making the big money, it seems to me that they will be putting themselves behind big alternative energy initiatives in the long run.