Lately, it’s been hard not to notice the price of oil is rising. If
you haven’t seen it on television and in the newspaper, you’ve certainly
seen it at the pump. Earlier this month, the price of oil was being
reported, it seemed, upon every single-cent change in its price.
As with the election uncertainty of 2000 or the 2001 anthrax scares,
the more incessantly something is reported in the media, the public’s
interest becomes concern before, at times, edging near hysteria. The
situation becomes seemingly more dire with each report.
Take a minute, though, to put the rising price of oil in perspective.
Oil prices have spiked before, most memorably during the energy crisis
of the late 70s and early 80s. If you adjust those prices (due to
inflation) to today’s dollars, oil was just above $82 a barrel. We’re
not there yet. And, if the price continues to rise, and it might, that
spike will lead us to consider and utilize other forms of energy. That’s
what we did 25 years ago and as a result, the economy is more efficient
and less oil-dependent than it was then.
