Soaring prices are a warning that we need to change

Just how high can it go? A year ago, analysts were talking darkly about the prospect of oil breaching $100 a barrel for the first time. It turns out they were too optimistic. The price of a barrel has hit an unprecedented $135 this week. The recent predictions of a $200 barrel of oil suddenly begin to look rather more plausible.


The response to the present price spike from our governments suggests they are in state of denial about oil. President Bush has been leaning on Opec to pump out more crude from the ground. Our Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, is attempting to drum up support from partners in the EU and the G8 to add to that pressure. Meanwhile, two of the US presidential candidates, Hillary Clinton and John McCain, are proposing a “fuel-tax holiday” for Americans this summer. Lobbyists in Britain are demanding a similar suspension of fuel tax on petrol. Yet none of this addresses the true cause of high prices: namely that global demand for oil is outstripping supply.

Independent