Coming Any Day Now: $100 a Barrel Oil

A few years ago I watched The End of Suburbia with a group of local environmentalists. It was considered a fairly edgy, somewhat catastrophizing movie. Now, less than two years later, many of its predictions are routinely turning up in the news. One that seemed hard to grasp at the time is $100 a barrel oil, but it looks like it's coming any day. The alternative/renewable energy world has considered oil at $100 a barrel as the magic number - the price at which renewable energy becomes price competitive. And an actual sane energy policy is under discussion in Washington, the Warner-Lieberman energy bill, whose goal is an 80% emissions drop by 2050 (when I will be 98), or simplified to "80 by 50", chanted by college students demonstrating in DC this weekend.
I went to DC for a family get-together and while there I lobbied one of my senators today about supporting this bill. I still get all goose-bumpy when I go to DC. The Capitol is spectacular looking, and when walking down the halls of the Senate Office Buildings it's a kick to see signs like "Senator Barack Obama". My stop at the senator's office took less than 10 minutes, so it's unlikely to change the world. But it feels great to be an active citizen. I'm sure there are lots of folks like me who do cyber-activism: clicking a button to send off an email. I have to assume an in-person constituent visit is much more impactful.

Watch for that 100$ moment. It's going to be big.

Photo taken from http://www.hoosieragtoday.com/