There is one great benefit of the high price of oil that environmentalists should be celebrating: it is making alternative energy much more attractive, so much so that the rising price may usher in a tidal wave of alternative fuel source projects that will, consequently, lead to greater scale economies and perhaps the movement of alternative fuel sources into the mainstream. This would be a great outcome.
In the current scene the high price of energy is doing some pretty bad things -- but if a movement towards saner energy sources results, this silver lining may end up being an amazing turning point in history.
The longer gasoline prices remain at prices most people consider unacceptable, the greater the significance of potential consumer shift. A rise of ten percent in gas prices lessens consumption by just 0.6% in the short term, but it lessens demand much more substantially over a longer period of time
As folks make major spending decisions, such as where they want to reside and what kind of vehicle to drive, they are starting to factor in the cost of fuel. Some are choosing smaller cars or are relocating nearer to their offices to diminish gas consumption.
The current situation "crisis" has halted or slowed many new subdivisons, high fuel prices have restricted consumption and restrained purchasing of gas-guzzlers, and rising construction costs are restraining new coal and gasoline plants.
At the same time, economic incentives are generating a frenzy of new renewable energy construction.
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