[Graeme]

''Economic Brief: Fallout from Energy Trends''

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'C')urrently, the U.S. Congress is grappling with a host of energy issues -- energy will be a major deciding factor during fall's elections in the United States, possibly altering the shape of both the House and the Senate and having a potential impact on domestic and foreign policy. Major resolutions have been introduced that ask for investment in ethanol fuel and massive research and development funding for hydrogen and fuel cell technologies. These resolutions have highlighted the importance of domestic oil reserves as well as technologies like solar and wind energy.

Today, this is a major election issue and constituents and politicians will continue to demand greater resources for these energy trends. A certain period of time will be necessary to introduce and incorporate these technologies, and then there will be an irreversible trend of lowering oil and gas prices and revenues. Major Gulf exporters such as Saudi Arabia are not prepared for the impending collapse in energy prices, and neither is Iran, Nigeria, Venezuela or Russia.