Oil Roller Coaster Gets Wilder

With the price of oil soaring in recent weeks, politicians around the world are scrambling to react. The price of the benchmark 'Brent' crude oil has increased by almost 90% in just 12 months, to around $115 a barrel. Now some speculators are betting that the price is headed towards $200 a barrel, which would spell global economic chaos.  

In Spain, the government has already moved to reduce the highway speed limit and lower train fares to save fuel. In the UK, the Conservative coalition government was proposing to increase the speed limit but is now suddenly reversing course and looking to take sudden action to cut oil consumption. According to the Observer, UK energy secretary, Chris Huhne, says they don't have much choice. "Getting off the oil hook is made all the more urgent by the crisis in the Middle East. We cannot afford to go on relying on such a volatile source of energy." The problem for the UK government is that they were counting on cheap oil, and made no preparation for anything else.

Full text at http://thecanadian.org/k2/item/597-doherty-oil-dependence