Why We Can

It’s becoming evident that the rising price of oil has little relationship to anything Americans do, or don’t do.

…But demand is booming elsewhere, especially in the Middle East. The nations that have grown rich on petrodollars aren’t just spending money on champagne and lavish hotels on the French Riviera. They’re plowing cash into diversifying economies, building things that use lots of energy


The trends that boosted demand in 2007 are still intact. OPEC projects that in 2008, world oil demand for crude will rise by 1.3 million barrels per day, but that non-OECD countries will account for 1.1 million barrels per day, or 80 percent of the total. China alone is expected to boost consumption by 400,000 barrels per day. Lehman Brothers analysts project that this year OPEC countries will increase their use of oil by 350,000 barrels per day, or 4 percent.

It’s beyond our control. Using less gas, running factories at fewer shifts and redoubling efforts to conserve and find alternatives may save us some money. But it won’t result in lower prices at the pump.

Newsweek