From the Associated Press:
Oil prices hit an all-time high near $120 a barrel Monday after a weekend refinery strike closed a pipeline system that delivers a third of Britain’s North Sea oil to refineries in the U.K. […]
In the U.S., retail gasoline also hit a record for the 13th straight time. The average price of a gallon of regular unleaded rose to $3.603, up four-tenths of a cent from the previous day, according to auto organization AAA.
That’s bad news for the average SUV-owner, but good news for the average oil company:
And as Gristmill points out, it’s also good news for those of us that know only higher gas prices will change consumer behavior and shift us away from fossil fuels:
Only high energy prices–prices that internalize the grievous costs of energy extraction and combustion via gas taxes and revenue-neutral carbon taxes–can instill the incentives and propagate the behaviors that will move us and other nations off of oil and off of carbon in the nick of time.
It’s a tough message for a politician to sell–and don’t look for any of the ’08 hopefuls to go beyond what Obama said in Anderson, IN: “The only way we’re going to lower gas prices over the long term is if we start using less oil.”
Ultimately, sustained higher gas prices will mean decreased demand for fuel–and that’s a good thing. We’re already seeing these kinds of effects in car purchasing, with Americans buying more hybrids and fewer trucks in March.
Tags: oil prices
GreenWonk 
Leave a comment