CNN

Lets go! Buy your oilfield operator and oilfield service company stocks now if you haven't already. They (commodities) will lead us out of this recession...

Can I intrest you in a horse Jack?

I'm from Minneapolis, Minnesota and to answer your question:
How will your life change if oil reaches $250 a barrel?

That is kind of a stupid question, everybody's life WILL change. Everytihng will get more expensive. Oil drives the prices of everything. How come people are not telling the goverment to open the big OIL findings they have found off the shores of Florida. Us as consumers are getting screwed.... The problem is nobody does a thing to stop it. Tell the goverment to stop it. Also, this one last thing.. I always hear the reporters talk about how the goverment owns the car world. I think the press needs to start saying that the american people own the car companies and not the goverment. then I think you will see changes...

Its fine. Americans need to get off their butts and deal with higher energy prices. We need something to force us (Americans) to finally change our reliance on oil. We'll only get there if we're shocked into it.

Here we go again with the yellow press. It frustrates me to know end that everytime there is a spike in the price of oil everyone runs around with their hair on fire. Keep the press out of it and I bet most of our problems will ease!!

I would drive less

I will change how I vote. I will vote favorably in regards to the environment only to a certain point. If oil reaches $250 a barrel, I will vote for anyone willing to drill anyplace...even if it's in my own back yard. I would also vote for anyone willing to screw the oil companies for all the years they've screwed us. You can't tell me that they aren't at this time currently...totally taking advantage of the American driver.

oh,well really sad for people cant afford and their cars will park at home or everywhere trucks,cars and etc will leave out on freeway or highway when runs out od gas. also dealers will lose their jobs more than this year. any car company would be closed because people won't buy many thousand cars because of oil price is too high $250. barrel. that mean almost 10 dollar per gallon!!!! from gold hill, oregon

And its not because Obama is in office. Its because the people fall for the crap the government has been feeding for the past 200 years. Political problems, stupidity, lack of knowledge, and corruption has been around for alot longer than Obama. But its not Bush that caused this either. Its the peoples ignorance to the way it SHOULD be. The government is here for us, WE THE PEOPLE. Read the preamble again Americans. Its right there in black and white, with really cool penmanship as well. Wake up America, its not the governments fault. Its we the peoples.

We'll all be up the creek. The last round of 4-5 dollar gas helped crash our economy last year. Trading in oil futures by the big players MUST be curbed...it's a matter of national security.

I'll be riding my bike a whole lot more.

Since the oil companies always have a reason to rise gasoline prices and they are not always related to the price of a barrel of oil, could the price of gasoline reach $20.00 per gallon? It's too bad that BIg Oil cannot afford to build new refineries to try and lower the price. But that would be cutting into their already obscene profits.

Jack, I trade crude for a living and oil will not get to $250 this year and I seriously doubt next year. But, if something like that happens, we will just see another round of demand destruction like we saw last year and then oil will go back to $40 or lower. This would be very painful. But with Geithner and Obama trying to reinflate the bubble with huge sums of cash, we could see $4 or more gas again. Nobody wants that. Not even Exxon.

Time to let both of my gas guzzling vehicles go back to the bank if that happens.

Oil will only reach $250 a barrel if productivity is so great that we can afford to pay it. If our productivity is that impressive, we will no longer even need oil, but will have alternative energy sources.

Jack,
The "experts" who are predicting this are the same people behind the last spike in oil prices – speculators, like Goldman Sachs, who are the ones most likely to profit from these obscenely high prices. I drive for a living, and my gas is paid for by my company. When that gets to be too much for my company to bear, they will most likely lay me off, won't they? When enough people are laid off and the country slides into possible chaos, maybe it will have to be the fat cats whose lives will then be changing...

$250 a barrel? That's going to affect the availability and price of food in grocery stores. $250 a barrel = famine. Or at best, $20 for a can of tuna. Which will blast inflation into the stratosphere, unleashing social chaos on a scale we're ill-equipped to fathom. And with the world in that kind of situation, a full scale global war is unavoidable. And it's also unavoidable that such a war would end up nuclear.

So that's about what we're looking at here.

I will devastate all our lives as we as a society depend on oil for food, cloths, jobs, and everything. So I think before that happens, we should tax oil so that gas becomes 4.00/gallon NOW, and use the tax money to build electric based transportation like high speed rail connecting all cities which 100k+ folks. Creating public transportation in all cities with walking distance to a bus or train station.

When the eventuality happens we will be prepared.

The market is a mess despite the price of a barrel. My local gas station is no longer using their old model of determining the price of gas and is instead delibertly setting their price 2 cents higher in an effort to drive up the price. Meanwhile the station one town over is 8 cents cheaper. If oil reaches $250 a barrel then I am sure I will no longer be able to drive to work due to the cost of driving. I have no other option than driving due to the lack of mass transportation in New Hampshire plus my small town of Barrington doesn't have enough work to support the population so a high gas price would bring this state to a halt never mind drive the state source of income, tourism, into the toilet.

I doubt that oil will reach such a level because there are too many factors in place right now. The new Obama administration is high on finding alternate energy and already there are reports of some success in that industry. However, if it does reach $250 a barrel, it would mean cutting down on other un-necessary costs and carpooling as many times as you can to save money on gas. If it indeed hits $250, expect demand to go down, which in turn will force the oil companies to lower their prices.

Toronto, Ontario

My life wouldn't change much. Lucky for me I've foreshadowed these warning signs and took the necessary steps to build a car that runs on olive oil and hope.

I will give up my driving in a heart beat!! Gas prices are getting ridiculously high!!

Madison, Wisconsin.

Go more in debt. Buy a small car.

Dallas, TX

I will HAVE to buy a hybrid. No questions asked.

Sorry, but crude oil will not reach $250 anytime soon. If crude reaches $150, severe demand destruction will take place once again, which will then send crude falling in price, again.

-Nick
Chicago, IL

$250.00 a barrel would probably cause to to mow my yard every other week. I drive a 1985 Ford Ranger six miles round trip to and from work. I have a garden which requires "hand tools" that require no gasoline. I own 75 acres of land here in the beatiful state of Tennessee and have a few cows and goats around, a few chickens and a couple of hogs to feed us this winter. We are serving no sentence as we have chosen to live here, it's really great. Parking is free. I know, sounds terribly boring huh? Yall cope with those expensive parking spaces, we just park out in the pasture and we don't get worked up about what's on the moon, we just lay on the hood and look at it. Try it sometime!

I didn't own a car for about a year and a half, and going back to that, while inconvenient, wouldn't be that big a deal for me. I live in Denver, and the whole metro area has one public transportation system for all 7 counties, and I get a systemwide pass through work. Not difficult to get around without a car. I had a lot more time to read and relax. Also, I built up significant savings for the first time while not owning a car. I understand prices of a lot of other things would go up, and I can't control that, but I think not having car expenses or a car payment saved about $400/month. It would provide an easier excuse for not owning one.

Here we go again....So, you guys don't have anything else to spice up the media that now you are back to oil controversy?????

My life will be much better if oil hits $250/barrel. I have basically given up on expecting any kind of workable energy policy coming out of Washington. What that means is that we will continue to become more reliant on foreign sources of oil and that those sources will become more scarce and, hence, much more expensive. I so firmly believe $250/barrel oil will be in our near future (3-7 years) that I have invested most of my money in oil companies, oil commodity futures, and oil service companies. Most of my investments are also directed at foreign owned companies, since I don't have much hope for future profits and resource development in the US. I'll also be happy if my predictions don't come true, because then I won't have to sit back and watch this country crushed for its failed energy policies that punish hydrocarbon and nuclear energy providers for being successful. Cynical yes, but I have put my own money where my mouth is.

Obama will waive his hand and all will be well.

By stupidly not doing anything in this country for over 20 years to develop vehicles that can get at least 50 miles to the gallon it is sad that now we are facing reality and still do not have a vehicular solution. It's great to live in the moment but governments that cannot think ahead do a great disservice to their citizens. With real government support the technology would have been possible ten years ago. I live in Manhattan and go everywhere by public transportation. And public transportation should be another service the government supports to the fullest. – Michael

$250/barrel is probably $10/gallon, not including price gougers and other garbage.

I'd stop driving, quit work and stay home with my baby. I commute 45 miles one way, and the cost of childcare plus gas would erase my salary, which used to be considered more than adequate for this college-degreed professional.

We are powerless against this until we find an alternative fuel source, and looks like science is once again again proving right their findings on "peak oil." But I'm sure our gov't will squeeze and shake all the penny's they can from us until they can't anymore.

I would literally become a destitute pedestrian. I would however cash in on the other hand because I do in vest in oil services stocks . This however only serves to partially pay for the price i'm getting hit at the pump with

As Obama continues to stack debt up on our already badly shaken economy and as other countries continue to lose faith in our ever growing debt load it's not if, but when oil reaches 250.00 a gallon. And asking how it will affect our life is a silly question. Complete economic collapse, families forming up in food lines, and Obama blaming everything on Bush is what will affect all of us. Economic devastation Mr. Cafferty is what the effect will be.

Are you kidding,...it will never go that high. We would go to
war with who ever has the juice black gold and just take it.
You know national security reasons and all.
Craig

well i guess i would have to hitchhike to the bank.Get a loan to fill up my car. To take my unemployment check to the bank to pay off the loan.otherwise not much else.

This will be a good thing. It will be like the 1970’s oil embargo. It forced America to build more efficient cars. We are on our way to that, but it will accelerate it even more.

The price of oil is being shilled by investment firms. They predict high oil prices, watch media outlets like this one report on it, and watch as their predictions become self-fulfilling because other investors want to make a buck. See it for what it is, folks.

God I hope not. My husband and I are middle to upper middle class workers with two children, a mortgage, and all the trimmings that comes with a household. Thankfully, we both have good jobs in higher education and healthcare. However, if gas goes up higher than it did last summer.....that is going to halt ALL progress we've made on rescuing the economy. What are the oil companies thinking? It will surely crash everything, and put most of Americans into bankruptcy. It is purely selfish, and insane. Ive always thought about how they make billions in profits each year... why cant they be happy with a couple million in profit.... why do they have to be so greedy?

I'll have to stop taking baths in oil, probably.

I'd better leave LA for new York, because there is now way I will be able to afford the gas-chugging drive to work anymore.

I'll be glad that we have mass transit and smaller cars together with less expensive health care and more dollars for gas. I'll be glad that the banking industry isn't running amok and we are recovering the value of the Dollar.

I'll be especially glad for an experienced Columbia/Harvard graduate married to an experienced Princeton/Harvard graduate instead of some guy from the bottom of his class at Anapolis or his successor who flunked journalism (excuse me, communications) school five times and can't take a joke.

Michelle Obama in 2016! I mean it.

Oil at $250 is the best thing that could happen to the world. We are all going to roast if we don't stop burning fossil fuels to power our economies and our lifestyles, and high oil prices have proven in the past to be the kick in the pants we need to make the switch to alternatives. $250 oil? Bring it on. It will save the world.

As the price at the pump goes up our economy goes down. As our economy weakens, demand for oil goes down. As gas prices decline from weakened demand, more motorists are hitting the road again. As Americans start feeling things are going to get better. They get worse. When things are down-hill fast, as Mr. Jetson says, "Jane, get me off this crazy thing!"

Get ready for more road hazards like Smart cars and bicyclists and everyone driving under the speed limit to save gas. Guess I'll have to turn up the aggression dial.

I wish all oil resources would just dry up so scientists and engineers would be forced to solve the issue once and for all.

Won't happen. The world economy won't bear that price. $140 a barrel broke the average American consumer's back. Long before we reach that price, alternatives will compete for those energy dollars. Just talking about $250 a barrel, however, is instrumental in keeping the pressure up for alternative energies. Is perhaps the coal lobby or the natural gas lobby promoting these new oil estimations? Or is "big oil" floating the new $250 outlook so that $80 to $90 a barrel seems reasonable by contrast. Too cynical? Perhaps. (Been driving a Prius for 5 years, by the way.)

Jack it will mean we missed the lesson of the oil embargo in the early 70's. It told us in plain english we need to develop alternative fuels. With the current bashing of Ethanol going on do you know you can make Ethanol from alot of things besides corn? I believe the highest output you can get is from sugar beets, yet you never hear about THAT. Research all the things you can make Methanol out of if you dont like Ethanol. If we would have developed other sources of fuel in the 70's we would be like Brazil now, laughing at our dependence of oil.

Why should we think oil will hit $250/bbl anytime soon? We are pretty sure reserves are declining, but I don't think there's any credible model for predicting prices. If a person doesn't understand the fundamental governing principles of a phenomenon, they can extrapolate some pretty ridiculous predictions. For instance, if a person observes a plane taking off in what appears to be a constant angle with respect to the earth, by extrapolation of their observation they can formulate a prediction about when it will reach the moon if they don't understand aerodynamics and realize that that atmosphere gives out way before that. Perfectly valid prediction based on their limited knowledge but completely wrong – sort of like most economic predictions – "housing prices will never fall!" As we should have learned from recent history, there are limits to demand in response to rising prices. I would suspect (but don't have the model to prove) that all manner of economic changes will take place as oil prices increase and I don't think we understand what those responses will be and how they will affect future prices.

Mark
Albuquerque

I am actually not to worried right now because gas prices have ALWAYS increased during the summer months. Let's just hope we don't hit the 4$ plus a gallon that we did back when bush was in office.

As we continue to fret over global warming, we have totally lost sight of the real problem . . . dwindling energy resources. Oil has peaked, reasonably priced coal in this country is nearing a peak and world wide demand for all energy sources will do nothing but rise. We can bury our heads in the sand and demand our god-given right to cheap energy or we can move forward, away from the 20th century, and toward sensible energy policies. Not written by DC lobbyists.

The Title should read "How your life will change WHEN oil reaches $250 a barrel"

The days of cheap energy and ever increasing supplies are over. We need to accept this fact and be proactive.

Talk of increasing domestic production to reduced is dependency on foreign oil is a fallacy. Oil production in the US has been in terminal decline since the 70's and our dependency on foreign oil ever increasing. The best we can hope for is slowing the rate of decline.

What politician can speak the truth when it hurts so much?

My wife and I will both retire and further eliminate driving the car. This country better get off it's butt with alternative energy, in spite of the power companies trying to derail it.

It would destroy all of us.

If oil reaches $250 a barrel in my lifetime, I will no longer be able to spend vacations camping in the prettiest forests in Oregon. I will have save as much money as possible, cutting out most American Made Products. Buying only the cheapest products I can find in order to pay my GASOLINE BILL
I will no longer be able to afford eating in restaraunts twice a month. Many people will be hurt by my change in spending habits. My barber has already lost my business do to the current prices of gasoline in my community. My family will no longer be able to enjoy the Great Sights in our own Country. Our planned trip to the Grand Canyon will be canceled again this summer.
I truely feel we are loseing jobs over the costs of OIL....
Mike Taylor

I work in the Louisiana Oil Patch, I wouldn't mind one bit if it got that high.

Oil will NOT reach $250 a barrel for one simple economic reason. Once oil prices reach a certain point it becomes economically feasible to research and/or utilize other means of energy. For example, billions of tons of oil sands in Canada remain un-mined because it is too expensive to extract and refine them. However, once oil reaches about $120-130 a barrel it will once again become profitable to mine them – thus increasing oil reserves. Other forms of energy including wind, solar, and geothermal power are not being utilized to their full potential currently because of cheap oil. Once oil prices rise again these forms of energy will garner much more attention and research money. $250 a barrel??? Maybe oil would reach that point on a simple linear scale where reserves continually decrease and demand continually increases – however there are many other factors to consider.

I remember reading months ago how the $40-50 a barrel oil prices were hurting the global economy as a whole. You guys need to make up your mind.

Being retired and somewhat on a fixed income, while I do not drive all that much now, watch and see how I'll cut it back even more. Thankfully when I retired two years ago I sold both my big cars (a big Buick and a big Old's) and bought a single vehicle that's smaller and that gets great mileage. I just didn't see the need anymore for two big cars.

Did I see this coming...no...but one only has to remember the 70's and the gas guzzlers and the oil companies. Somehow we Americans don't seem to learn from the past, we just go on blindly believing in the "good times" will last forever.

Well...back to high prices and probable shortages...

We'll have to survive without endlessly buying "toys" for ourselves, as only Americans do.

I will thank our President for spending and not drilling.....he has been to busy making sure we buy unwanted cars that run on who knows what...I live in West Texas...and we travel long distance from town to town ...and we need a car that run on a battery? I don't think so...our President is not in the real world and also those who voted for him.

If oil hits $250 a barrel, I will leave my car somewhere and wait for the price to drop again. In the meantime, I will learn to love walking again.

I think that the current prices are already to high to be reasonable. I believe that since fuel, electricity, natural gas, etc. are all necessities there should be a cap on profit margins for these items and items of their kind. I am not saying that they can't make money, but what I am saying is that this summer when a single mom runs out of gas and has to walk for miles with her child in arms to get help, that it is at this point when I can't help but thinking what goes around comes around. Central Arkansas

Jack: If oil hits $250 a barrel, that will mean hyper-inflation has begun. How can you prepare for that? All the rules will change. Banks will call in their loans before the dollar loses all its value and this will make the current housing crisis seem like the good old days.

Steve Bennett
Fairfax, VA

Since I am on a fixed income, I will sit at home in the dark and only go out once a week to church.

No impact whatsoever! ... I moved from the Suburbs to the city and am no longer dependent on a car. I ride public transportation every day and could care less if oil hits $400 a barrel. Regardless of oil price, we should be focusing on renewable energy and finally severing our ties from those middle eastern oil moguls.

Patrick from Chicago, IL

I moved into an apartment that's only a block from work for this reason... alone. Now I can bike or walk to work. But I guess I'll visit my mother less often than I want to if the gas prices get too high.

Deja vu. Suddenly it will be the summer of 2008 replete with pain at the pump and hybrid envy. Perhaps this time we'll wake up and realize it's not just a bad dream; it's reality.

Alexandria, VA

Jack,

Now I am part owner of GM, I will be asking for a plug in Chevy Volt as my company car!

Gary Taylor
Naples FL

Oil prices have already tore apart our family construction company which was in operation for 25 years. My humble opinion is that oil prices will soon break the back of our country and maybe the world. Our dependence on oil has finally caught up to the world.

It would certainly prove Obama right about needing to invest heavily in alternative energy. The GOP still think that oil will never run out. Funny they seem only concerned about debt their grandkids will inherit, not the fact there will be no oil or gas for them. $250 barrel oil is the GOP's worst nightmare.

I'll still have to get to work, people will adjust and find solutions. They always do. Efficient vehicles, better mass transit, less travel.....we'll adjust.

If oil jumps back into the 80s and hits 3 dollars a gallon, demand will drop like a rock again. The data utilized by the press is often full of holes. Unemployment is still a huge issue to be concerned with. As it is right now with gasoline near 2.70, its stretching many folks thin. You start talking over 3 dollars a gallon again, forget it. Consumer spending has jumped the past few months which is typical during tax return season and the onset of nice weather. If we hit 3 dollars a gallon that initial onset will shutter very quickly. Its easy to tell those who have a grasp on whats happening in the economy versus those who just like to speculate because they are in a position to do so. The U.S. economy is more important than the world truly wants to admit. The current rise in oil prices was brought on more by OPEC cuts than anything. The rise is premature. When the foundation of consumer spending is handicapped by rising prices there is no amazing statistic to make rising oil still feasible. Tighter unsecured lending standards and more regulation is not going to be an open armed policy for rising gasoline prices. I would advise looking at the Ratio of Gas price to oil price last year vs this year. Realistically at 70 dollars a gallon we should be about 2.25 a gallon. At current ratios 100 dollar oil would have gas at nearly 3.75 a gallon. 150 dollars like we were at before? Nearly 5.60 a gallon. take a poll of 1000 middle classers and ask them what 3 dollars a gallon does to them right now..

First off, if George was still in office that would give all the right reasons to liberate another country, say for instance Iran for it's oil reserves. Maybe we should invade North Korea. Maybe the reason they are so isolated is because they are holding most of the worlds oil reserves.

At $250 a barrel, I'll be riding a bike, heating my home with wood in a fireplace, and demanding we drill in Alaska and everywhere else we should be.

I've always driven fuel efficient cars and will continue to do so. The Europeans have long had much higher fuel prices and are still here to talk about it. We do depend on personal car transportation, living in a rural area, but we'll get by, even if it someday means part of the trips being made on a moped.

This would kill our chances of economic recovery for years to come. They must find a answer now to solve our dependence on OPEC. Throw some money into oil drilling and clean energy.

If oil where to hit $250.00 a barrel, I probably wouldn't be able to drive to work. My commute is 97 miles daily (from Longview, WA to Portland, OR), round trip, and even though my car gets about 30mpg on the highway, it would all but cripple my bank account, as well as my car.

Jack, I'll seriously consider getting saddlebags for my bicycle and start riding it wherever I can. If it ain't an emergency, the car stays in the garage. Pity the poor people here in Houston who commute 40-50 miles to work. The price of everything will go through the roof and we'll be back down in the recession again. Woe is us.

I, unlike our government, decided to make changes to my lifestyle back when the last oil surge occured. I moved closer to work, I take the bus when possible, and I walk to the store. I also purchased a smaller, gas-efficient car and try to use less energy in my home. I'm healthier and have more money in my pockets. Maybe our government should do the same.

Mike from Columbus, Ohio

Pretty simply if oil goes to $250 per barrel it is really going to make it difficult to even make it to work everyday. I have to travel over 25 miles one way to work and all this extra money going into fuel costs are going to cause me to cut back a lot of things I already have to make sure I can at least keep a roof over my head.

It's not going to be good, not good at all.

I think that not only will I personally be in trouble, I would be that much more concerned about the state of our nation. The fact that the Chairman of Gazprom is "predicting" $250 a barrels of oil, should be a warning to everyone. When over 70% of the worlds oil is found in places that 1) don't like us, 2) aren't stable enough to control it, we must figure something out before we're backed into a corner like Ukraine was by Gazprom last winter.

I' m about to retire so I won't drive so much but still I'll have to reduce travelling, be more careful with lights, heat, etc. The good side of it is that it will force conservation and austerity on all those who insist in driving white elephants...it will be good for the planet.

If Oil were to reach 250$ a barrell, it would cause a financial collapse, not only her in the US, but world wide,

I believe that there is plenty of oil and there is no other reason for this "raping" of our pocketbooks, In fact that Oil reaching it's highs last year is what caused the collapse of this economy and I don't believe that Obama or any of htese so called Economists have a clue,

Spending money we don't have to fix a problem. anybody that knows anything about money, you don't spend money you don't have. (DUH)

Our gov't has no business in "business". It's job is to govern the people. not make sure AIG or the banking industry stay in business.
They have just blown trillions of dollars for nothing... Thanks

Failed policies, make a failed business, failed gov't, = take over...
Wake up people China owns us.

Lets just say this Jack, it will become ridiculous

At 250 bucks a barrel it will be time for me to park the cars, hitch the dachsund to my old radio flyer and start for work earlier in the morning.
A Houston Metro bus ticket will probably go for 10 bucks by then!

It means we'll have to put up with even more blather and bluster from the likes of Vladimir Putin and Hugo Chavez.

When will our financial powerhouse citizens step up and fund research into alternative transportation options – if our economy falls, the rich will fall with it........Americans personal wealth is in the tens of trillions, when will the 5% with most of it realize what will happen to them if this continues unabated?

Of course the Russian energy cartel is trying to pump up the cost of a barrel of oil.

That being said... not going to happen. The sun will still rise. I will still have to pay taxes. I will still have responsibilities. I will adjust to anything that happens... as I always have.

Jack,

I won't be able to afford keeping paying for our car, for food (that has already gotten a raise not long ago because of more ethanol corn base used at home and abroad) and any products that travels long distance wll be a lot more expensive. And of course I will not travel long distances. Now I imagine the cost of airline tickets, boatcruise..well I guess you get the picture of what it would mean to stay home and spend a lot less..well I guess I will need a smaller house too since I won't be replacing my tv built overseas and so on!

I don't see how the oil problem can be resolved and I am willing to bet nobody else can either. Since oil is a finite commodity and the world is using exponentially more of it every year, it is logical for the price of crude to rise over the long run. Eventually we will exhaust our supply of crude. The answer is to switch from oil to another source of energy and not to worry about how to stabilize oil prices.

As crazy as $250.00 a barrel oil sounds, that would probably make a gallon of regular gas in the USA around $10-$12 bucks? It would immediately affect our driving habits. We would stop taking vacations (this would affect air travel as well), consolidate all types of shopping, cut back on visits to friends and this would just be the beginning...

I hope it goes to $2500 a barrel! It will take something of that magnitude to wake Americans up. People talk about the environment but too few are willing to take the necessary steps to do something about it. We need truly non-polluting alternative energy sources. We also need truly different and less consumptive lifestyles.

High price for oil only gives the market more incentive to come up with new sources of energy to fuel the world economy. Personally it hurts the wallet, but Obama should have known, weakening the dollar hurts everyone.

I think that high fuel costs will increase demand for local produce, as produce that has to be transported over long distances will become very expensive.

Jack,

I'm hedging my bets. While I'm young, I'm investing in solar and wind startups. The money I make there with rising oil prices is paying for my gas now.

When we finally truly understand the political, social, and cultural implications of the term "non-renewable resource," I'll be sitting pretty on investments in the renewable energy names of the future.

Just a matter of beating big energy at its own game.

I truly do not think it will hit that high. Managing a large Convenience Store in Minnesota that is still busy all the time,people just adjust their way of life. People need to get around so it is high on the priority list to have money for traveling. Even during last years $4/ gallon, sales were high!
Unbelievable we say in Minnesota.

Steve

Back when oil hit $140, filling my tank was taking a bite out of every part of my budget except housing, which for most of us is pretty unforgiving. I cut the lights and turned up the heat; I ate in and cut the cable, but still kept coming up short: I was hitting the credit cards and savings account I used to have to meet daily needs.

Jack, if oil hits $250 a barrel, that's an EXTRA $100 a month out of my wallet. I can only cut my expenses so much more, and with companies cutting benefits and pay to make up for their own problems, that money is going to have to come from somewhere, and that's the end of this "recovery".

-Paul C. from Northern Virginia

Chev-ro-legs! My car would be a thing of the past. At $8 to $9 a gallon in southern california would put families on the street. Souther California already has the highest cost of living, and the highest gas prices, and a complete lack of public transportation. All that equals disaster.

The gas price roller coaster, along with seeking new forms of fuel is getting to be sickening. A permanent solution is needed today, not in five years, not in a month–even next week is too late. Here in South Florida, there is no alternative to driving to where you need to go. We have Tri-Rail and the Miami-Dade Metrorail, which are oftentimes called, "Tri-Fail and Metrofail."

Well, if oil prices would go high up like that again, it would really STOP me from driving A LOT!! That is really worry some, and people like me who live paycheck to paycheck cant really afford those high gas prices! Its even hard right now kind of, with it being 2.50 a gallon.

So who is going to be made rich at $250.00 a barrel. The futures traders again. Nice the they can make billions at the cost of the public. ALso shouldn't the oil companies that get local oil much cheaper be forced to sell at a cheaper price. If it goes that high we will be going into or continue the current resession Why is the governement not watching out for this Crap and stopping it ?

Life for meself and everyone would be turned upside down. It would mean a new way of transportation for myself. I would have to move closs to my work to cut the commute down. This would all have to be done to save enough money to spend on all the goods that would sky rocket as gas effects the price of everything...

I do have have to worry about going to work,,,,
There be,No where to go"',

Islip NY.

The makers of Prius are going to make a FORTUNE!

How soon we forget that it is Summer. We do this every year folks. It'll go up some more and probably last a little longer because of last year.

Jack I am a small buisness owner in arizona. i have a truck and trailor rig that i use for my handyman buisness. if oil hits $250 a barrel im up you know which creek without a paddle. i dont think a prius can haul my trailer let alone a peice of drywall. I just do not understand why the people in charge of this whole shootng match havent bothered to think about things like that. not all of us can drive electric cars. they need to come out with a new truck that is just as powerful as my hemi that can do the job and for alot less! perhaps GM or Chrysler might save there own butts is they thought about that. instead of leaving it up to us to save it for them

Not worried about it too much. People love their cars as much as they love their $80/gallon Starbucks. People will drive regardless and pay whatever price. Just save up in anticipation! (Not that we American's know how to save anymore)

I don't know if I could afford to live at all. I just don't make that much. I'd have to start selling organs. Anybody want a kidney?

Hopefully someone will realize the need to regulate the commodities market and it won't come to $250 oil. Living in a big city like New York gives me the advantage of walking everywhere, but as we saw with our previous oil spike, food becomes just as unaffordable as gas. It's past time someone stopped Morgan Stanley from raising our energy prices while we work on what's coming next.

I am retired and volunteer my time to non-profit agencies 4 or more days of the week. Should gas hit $250 a barrel this would have to stop.

Anyone who thinks that they won't be affected by oil selling at $250 a barrel should rethink their analysis. Unless of course they don't plan to go to the supermarket to buy groceries and other consumable goods and don't plan to use fly on a plane. This would even affect where our tax dollars go. Think about all of the tax hikes that happened last year to pay for local school's soaring gas bill for their buses. This would affect anyone that buys any product that requires shipping or any property owner that pays property/school taxes.

This is why I drive a Honda Fit. I got 39 MPG on a recent trip from Houston to DFW.

The price of oil can't POSSIBLY go to $250. After all, Obama is now president rather than that evil Bush guy who made the price of oil go up so all of his and Cheney's friends would get rich. With The One as president, he will just make oil cost $30 a barrel because he can (he is GOD in case you hadn't heard) and he cares about the middle class and unemployed. Not to worry. He IS Change You Can Believe In. And I believe. The only reason he has not done it yet is that he has been busy. Oh, and there was that trip to NYC in Airforce One and associated helicopters and limos that used 80,000 gallons of fuel and created 79,000 tons of greenhouse gas so Michelle could have a nice dinner date. After all, Barack says "we ALL need to re-think how we live our daily lives to reduce our impact on the environment." He is just leading by example.

I do not drive much, so probably very little impact for me. But the world does revolve around any one person, no? This would be a global disaster since all of the world have become slaves to oil. Ofcourse, the poor and those with less money would be the first casualties. And since when has anyone cared about them?

Uh, wasn't it like at $150 last year?

At that time people we're selling their SUVs (if they could) and people who drove even more efficient cars were looking for ways to save. Hopefully the economy will cope and will implement new technologies that are cheaper and cleaner before it is too late.

I already ride a bicycle and only use my car if really needed.It's time to re-instate the "Is This Trip really Necessary?" mind-set. The chickens have come home to roost and unless you are prepared to REALLY make changes, then I fear America is in for a rude awakening.

Hi Jack,
We live about 20 miles from the nearest town. At $7.00 per gallon, I'm afraid we'd probably lose our home.
Ralph Patch
Blackduck, Mn

At 250.00 a barrel that would mean we would be paying what 10.00 per gallon for gas?? It is hard enough paying 2.80 a gallon today and run a small business. The government NEEDS to step in and keep gas costs at .99 and no more then 1.50 per gallon. As a small delivery business that is the only way to stay profittable.

Ever seen 'that movie "the road warrior'? I'm pretty sure things will be like that. At 250/barrel, gas prices will be 7-8 bucks a gallon and hardly anyone who makes under 100k will be able to afford to fill up their tanks. At this price, the JIT (just in time) delivery system of trucks taking goods and food to the local grocery store will grind to a halt. Shortages will be the norm.

Our oil and gas prices are highly subsidized in this country, and our concept of what is "too expensive" to fill our tanks is a joke in comparison to other countries. I say bring it on. It'll do us all some good to stop taking our cars and our travel for granted, and it will allow us to start thinking about better ways to get from A to B, including renewable energy sources, improved public transportation system, carpooling, and walking/biking more.

I'll hitch my horses to a buckboard and DARE the police to stop me! As long as I have the horses, I have transportation, though I may not be able to afford the PROPANE to heat my house and hot water. Oh, the indignity of a team of purebred arabians pulling a buckboard!

IT IS A LIE, JACK. Hedge Funds and the ultra-wealthy are MANIPULATING the gasoline prices AGAIN, as they did last summer, out of greed.

The oil and gasoline supplies are at 20 year highs, inventories have been INCREASING for 20 straight weeks. Oil tankers are being used as storage facilities. THERE IS NO SUPPLY AND DEMAND ANYMORE.

If gasoline prices reach $250 per barrel there will be riots, murders, and an even greater depression than '29 and many will die from winter wealther and food shortages. It will be chaos!

Hey Jack:
Well It Won't affect me at all. If gas goes up to 10 dollars a gallon I will still be driving, It means there me alot less drivers on the road, More parking spots for my Bentley and Aston Martin, Think of it Jack, No Kids and no retired People On the road, If I can only wish

If gas increased in proportion to a barrel of oil, $250 a barrel oil would cost me about $55 a week more. (I drive about 12,000 miles a year and I get 31 mpg). Fuel oil would be about another $45 a week, on average. So I would sit down at my computer and cut my budget $100 a week. Not much fun, but really not that hard, either. There's bad news in this for you Jack, Cable TV would probably be on that list.

Well I hope the bank can eat my house, or turn it into a bonus. Being without work at moment, there is just no way to survive in an economy forced to absorb that amount of increase. Shouldn't the question be... what has the nation's leaders done to avoid such a calamity? Besides a ton of talk... nothing. At least the Titantic had a band.

Lets see Jack, oil hits $4 a gallon the worlds economy crumbles because of gas prices and gas price induced inflation on every other goods and services. Gas hits $2 a gallon and the global recession starts to turn around for the better. Correlation? If people are spending their discretionary money on necessities they're not fueling the economy they're only feeding oil company greed. Supply and demand Ha! If thats the case why when demand fell they cut production in an effort to drive up prices? Get rid of speculation bring in regulation and oversight and watch the global economy continue to turn around for the better...

You are also leaving out a major reason why oil prices are rising. OPEC has cut 5-7 million barrels of oil exports a day to drive the price up. WE ARE NOT RUNNING OUT OF OIL!!!!!! The people that are saying we are, are trying to drive the price up even more. We will hit 100 a barrel, maybe even 120, but that is the highest. The world economy can not afford oil to go any higher. If it is 250 a barrel I guess I will have to ride a bike or something. Or live in an area and use public transportation. Basic point is, there will not be 250 a barrel. But if there is, I will be faster than Lance Armstrong.

Houston, TX

Well IF and it's a pretty big stretch, oil hits $250 you can (again) say goodbye to GM. They will be the first casualty of the next round of $100+ oil. When will people learn?
Oil is scarce, we know that but then so if water and we use that like there is no end to it. We must conserve but while shuttle after shuttle goes into space using millions of gallons of fuel (not oil I know), and people keep buying SUV after SUV, I'm not sure people even care.

Dear Mr. Cafferty;

If Oil reaches a cost of $250 per barrel; Would Gas be around $10 a Gallon?

Will any one in authority tell us that "Peak Oil" is here?
That Demand will be larger than the supply from now on, and what that means to the world as we know it?

I only drive 2 miles to work and back a day 4 days a week. But my Job would move south faster; it is already leaving. (I work in a NSK factory making automobile steering columns ), and my food prices would go off the charts. I live in New England (VT) and most of the food is imported from California or the Midwest.

I already use a pellet stove as my primary source of heat and hope to get an electric car as soon as I can. I guess I should grow a "Victory Garden" too.....;-)

If it goes that far, I'll ask for a raise. If I can't get it then I guess I'll quit my job and work across the street at Target.

Good by S.U.V. Hello 10 speed. Jack, now I have a question for you, if we can drill for our own oil, create jobs in the process, and help lower national debt, why don't we? Barak is against drilling and all for higher taxes on everything! We need Pailin!

Have you ever seen those bikes at the Jersey Shore that 6 people pedal at the same time? Well, that's how my family (two parents and 4 sons) will get around town. We will be the "surrey with the fringe on top". I am SURE that my boys will hate that but hey, how bad do you want those chicken nuggets...? Gotta pedal if you want a Big Mac fella!

Jack, As a self-employed carpenter who needs his truck to haul his tools and materials an average of 40 miles (one way) a day, I'll be out of business over night. No one in their right mind would pay me the amount I would have to add to my days wages. What ever happened to our becoming a service- sector economy? Guess that went out the window with our industrial base. Can someone seriously tell me what the hell we're all supposed to be doing for a living? L. Alleman Antioch, Il.

I would live and work for OIL !

Oil and Gasoline are like addictions. You can go cold turkey, but eventually you will have break down. Whick means we can talk about how we will ride our bikes, take public transportation, walk, run, etc. But we will break down and pay the crazy amount for gallon of gas or a barrel of oil. Just we payed in some place last summer, four dollars a gallon. So all we can do is get ready for another long and expensive summer. Happy Summer!!!

Has anyone read Jeff Rubin's new book "Why Your World is About to get a whole lot smaller"? You should. He is the former Chief Economist of CIBC world markets.

Jack:

As long as the truckers can afford to deliver beer to the local stores, I will be just fine, thank you for asking.

Gary,
Lexington,KY

$250 per barrel oil would effectively eliminate my use of a vehicle. There is absolutely no way I could afford to drive. Period. While I'd have more money left over for other expenses, all goods and services would likely PRICE IN the increase, thus depleting any reserves I had. I imagine the economy would get so bad that I'd opt to live out in the woods, and off the land.

If gas goes up that high America is in trouble.

I am a home health aide and i pay my own gas, to go to patients homes. I average about 30 miles a day. And my job does not pay millage. Guess if it goes that high time to find a job closer to home.
Right now everyone is hurting from high prices and no jobs. If it goes up, so will prices. And i live in a place that i could not ride a bike. too many hills.

People will starve because a loaf of bread will cost 8 dollars, a burger will be 15 dollars, and a gallon of milk 10 dollars.
Everything will increase in price. Normal everday items will be considered a luxury because of the price. Many business will go under adding huge numbers to the unemployed. Tourism and those that rely on it for income will cease to exist. The trucking industry will be devastated, as will the airlines and fishing industries, just to name a few.

Oh, but I guess since we'll all be green by driving so much less all will be okay.

Why use the head of a Russian energy group to support your claim. He certainly has a vested interest in driving up the price and the Russians are known for their honesty. Can you not find a better source to support what really is just tabloid journalism.

Chris Short
Baltimore, MD

It will put many different vehicle related businesses out of business.
Truck drivers, taxi drivers, city buses, sales of all kinds, how will airlines stay in business since we won't be qble to afford to fly anywhere.
Of course the telephone companies will do quite well as meetings will be done via phone.

I look forward to it. Maybe then we will get serious about alternative solutions. Every time oil skyrockets, there is buzz about electric vehicles and solar energy. When investment moves in that direction, oil mysteriously starts moving down and motivation for alternative energy sours. I want oil to be $5,000 per barrel so we buy none of it!

Fantastic... I bought oil futures a while back and they are doing great along with investments in Exxon, Chevron and Conoco.

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

I'm sure that most people will quit their jobs like myself, stay home and go on state financial assistance (welfare) and food stamps. If the government and WALL STREET wants to push me and america to broke status then they can pay me and america to live, eat, sleep and raise our kids. Why work just to DRIVE. Psssst, i'm done. The U.S.A will PAY all my debts and i will happily become a welfare dependent as my country was happy to put me in that place. I CAN ONLY DO SO MUCH. Hey Congress and Wall street Boys ! Your gonna pay more than you EVER imagined.

I guess we will be having a staycation instead of a vacation. If it continues into Augusta, I guess my children will be homeschooled and I will become their teacher. My husband might as well join us at home since he won't be able to afford driving to work. It's amazing how quickly outside forces can change your world into something you never pursued. I will basically have no life, no liberty, and no happiness.

Audrey
Georgia

Oil prices as well as stocks are driven by SPECULATION. It's not always the case, as we do have the supply and demand issue. However, there have been countless times in where one person says " WE THINK THAT THIS MIGHT...." and all of a sudden, half the world jumps on the wagon.

michael armstrong sherman texas . dear jack if Obama allowes this to happen he needs to be impeached this man is suppose to protect our national security this includes telling al gore and the invioromentalist to go to hell the oil companys and gas refineries are the reason our auto companys have faild if our president allows this to happen then were all facing to be a third world country may god help the poor and may god help the new world order the inviromentelest caused .

Well it would not surprise me if we hit $250/Barrel , My family already cannot vacation , next food will go up and that will limit what we buy and in the northeast heating the house is harder and we will need to back the temp down the thermostat even further . This country is in real trouble and we are all suffering already .Whats next ?? When do we just give up and throw the cards in ?

Without a doubt there will be economic shock waves. If the price stays that high for very long, economic life as we have known it in America will cease. It will be the catalyst to take us to a dire place, that right now is waiting for us 10 to 20 years down the road.
Socially, it will either destroy us or bring about a new sense of community. Think of how serious we'll become regarding carpooling and mass transit. How we'll eat dinner together and engage in group activites to save on energy costs. We will come out of our self imposed cocoons.

Well Jack, I'm doing what every young undergraduate or post-graduate should be doing and joining the Peace Corps. I leave for Uganda at the start of August and will hopefully miss the spike in oil. Since all I'll be driving is a bicycle, I doubt I'll be personally affected by the increase in oil prices. However, I know those that I'm going to help will endure an increase in suffering due to the rise in imports prices. We rarely ever think about it, but it is true that when the United States is hurt by a cold, the developing world catches a plague.

My family will have to walk to work about 12 miles because we wont be able to pay for the bus fare which will increase if oil goes up to $250 a barrel. No one can afford that. It will force people will cut back on things they never thought of like eatting. The nation will get thinner while the oil companies get fatter.

Oil price manipulation is just another government tool to continue to erode the constitution. I am hoping that the states will come to their senses and close down that circus in Washington D.C. and send the clowns home. When the people get tired of bowing down to the corrupt criminals infesting congress and begin to use their state legislatures to dismantle all government programs, then and only then will America have any chance of survival. I estimate the chances of America surviving until 2010 to be one in three. president Obama's policies and performance so far indicate that my one in three estimate may well be hopelessly optimistic.

If Oil went that high then you would see a problem, Knowone could afford to buy it, Then knowone could go to work, farm the fields ETC

Jack, we got a little peek last year at how quickly our modern society begins to break down as oil rose to a high of $149 a barrel . If oil had stayed at that level for anytime at all the airlines would have collapsed, as would have the trucking industry and just about everything else.

At $250 a barrel life as we know it in America would be over. $10 a barrel gasoline would put our low energy cost automotive centered economy flat on its back. There would be severe food shortages and any food you might find for sale would be extremely expensive. We use a vast amount of petro based energy in farming, processing plants, distribution centers, and delivery to the supermarket. A supermarket with bare shelves would not be so super.

In short, at $250 a barrel oil our advanced civilization as we know it would come to an end. Many of us would not survive the turmoil. As for fixing the problem with alternative fuels if you study the issue you will quickly see there is no way to replace our dependence upon oil in just a few years time if ever.

At $250 a barrel the worse in human nature would prevail. Probably the best we can hope for is that it take oil a few years to hit that level and we use the time wisely to prepare as best we can, including drastic oil conservation efforts. That's not likely as we have a history of dealing with a problem only after the problem has arrived. That will not work with a $250 a barrel oil crisis.

Jack: If oil ever reached $250 a barrel it would only add to the US bankruptcy situation. Were getting close to that now thanks to the Democrats.
Dutch

We're all going to hell in a hand basket if it reaches that high!!!

It will be a wake up call that we need to invest in other sources of energy. Hopefully it will mean the end of Hummers and SUVs and improved public transportation.

This issue is tiresome. Are we going to ask this question every year until oil is gone? This country and all countries need to invest in reliable mass transit. The age of oil needs to come to an end.

Jack,

I'd unload our three cars (their days are numbered anyway) in favor of something that gets 50 mpg or better, then pack up and move to Alberta. You may as well live in a place where the citizens benefit from high price oil, and the scenery is pretty darn spectacular.

If it goes up, I will be walking to work or not eating. Work is about 7 miles away one way and not even a good transit system or bus schedule is available here. I am single and live alone. And have no family to help me out...they are all in the same situation. I have survived cancer and already am finding it difficult to buy the correct foods to eat after battling breast cancer. All I know to do is to dance, dance, and dance just to keep the depression away.

Jack,
If oil hits $250 a barrel, which it can't because demand would plummet, I will sell my AIG holdings to cover the cost. Speculators are accounting for some of the price runup. Could it be that oil is the new housing market? What ever happened to the days where a home was a place to remain in and build lifelong traditions and memories? And when oil was just something to get you from point A to point B?
We seem to be experiencing a Madoff led era of get rich quick schemes.
Angelo T.
Washington, D.C.

Not going to happen. The balloon that exploded last year when it hit 147 will explode again when it rises too high again. Oil is being driven up by investors and speculators not consumers and all the fundementals says oil will crash again when the true numbers come in the long run. You can't possible believe in the oil production fraud when refinning in this country is running at all time lows of 80% to 81% of capacity compared to norms of 90% 92%. We have more crude Oil in storage in the US right now then we had in over 20 years. But, price of oil wasn't dropping when weeks and months went by of building surplus on the weekly report. But, we get one week or two weeks of draw down driven by low refinning and Houston ship canal problems and the prices shoots up. That's not supply and demand. That's Wall St controlling prices.

My family will not travel for family vacations. My daughters won't be able to go to gymnastics and will look at homeschooling as opposed to public/private school. Driving the vehicle will be saved for going to get grocercies and emergency purposes. Like many others, I will ride a bike to and from work. Thanks to our current government, our country is being dragged in a direction we don't want to go kicking and screaming.

There is no need for $250 oil no more than $147 oil. The oil speculators were never stopped and are running up the price again based on the expected recovery, which will happen but when and to what extent no one knows. Sen Dorgan calls it Dark Money no one knows who puts it in and how much there is. Thanks to the CFTC there is no oversight of oil future contracts.

Forget about how it will change my life, the entire world will forever be changed. What and how we consume and how often we consume won't be the same until we advance alternative fuels/energy at a faster pace; since we can only advance so far so fast, brace yourselves.

When discussing the catastrophe that is the US economy, a great deal of factors are cited for its current state, but regularly "the experts" neglect to mention that the mortgage industry tanked at the same time oil broke the $150 a barrel mark. Does anyone think this is more than a coincidence? So many things contributed to the weakening of the US (and the global) economy, but triple digit per barrel oil prices were more than likely the straw that broke the camel’s back. Maybe that's the wrong metaphor to use when discussing certain OPEC nations, and maybe I am just an ignorant kid; but I can put two and two together, so can OPEC and Gazprom, the difference is according to their math 2+2= $250 a barrel. Jack I am sure no one needs to tell you how drastically those prices would affect the lives of EVERY American; we’ve seen the changes and sacrifices people have to make at half that price.

It would drive the price up on EVERYTHING. Simpletons like to think gas is the only thing that oil prices affect, but realistically, everything we purchase takes energy to produce, and alot of that will be oil-based. And many of the better-paying jobs in the country are in energy-intensive industries. The Dems who have their head in the sand about drilling here will be responsible for the superinflation of the cost of living if oil were to ever reach $250/barrel.

My life will obviously be difficult but my family will do what we did when gas in CA was $5.00 per gal. We only travel when we must ie. work. We figure out our errands and group them nearby.

The other thing that would change our lives if oil reaches $250 a barrel is it will further increase our belief in green energy.

You can drill but you are looking at 7 years before it could go into your tank. Before that I would buy a hybrid!

I'm now retired so don't have to worry about going to work, but am very worried about rising costs. Food prices will skyrocket since the cost of bringing crops to market will soar, airline fares will triple due to the cost of aviation fuel, major price hikes will occur across the board since most consumer goods are transported via highways, rather than by rail. The economic situation not going to be pretty.

not sure?but life has already changed since the last high oil prices.stay at home watch CNN and try to figure out all this internet/networking stuff so we can communicate with people so i wont have to leave the house its better at home anyway.jo TN

Oil was at $150/bbl before and gas prices were at $4/gallon on average. $250/bbl oil would, by proportion, put the price at around $7/gallon, so basically an extra $30-$40 a fillup. Filling up about once a week puts the annual delta cost at $1500-$2000. I certainly don't have $2k to blow, but is it going to cause me to speak like the apocalypse is coming? Absolutely not. People will deal, whether it's carpooling, public transportation, less road trips, living closer to work, etc. Best thing you can do is buy some stock in oil companies and use the gains/dividends to fill up your car.

And no, I don't think oil will hit $250/bbl within the next 3 years at least.

Persian Gulf oil producing countries are already preparing for that day and investing billions of dollars on renewable energy. The UAE is one of the world's largest oil producers, has already begun construction on World’s first zero-carbon city, powered entirely by renewable energy. Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates invested $22 billion in the development of “Masdar city” with help of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), in Cambridge, US. Obviously you have the technology and the need, so if you see it coming why the US did not start yet a similar initiative?

Rany Ibrahim, Halifax, NS

Last I remember oil companies were not processing oil and storing it on tankers till the economy showed signs of improving. We are getting the shaft and our government is allowing it to happen. I guess when they feel our outrage they'll call big oil in to scold them like the last time. What a joke. We'll be looking at 6-7 dollars a gallon. I'll stay at work and come home on weekends.

It would be great to be honest. When oil hits $250 dollar a barrel it makes every other energy strategy feasable. It would be cheaper to get energy from wave energy. Wind energy would be half the price of oil energy. And all these things are great for the environment. Many environmentalist have said the fastest way to green energy is exhaust our supply of fossil fuels so that we have to change. But what rules this world is the dollar and at $250 a barrel, it would be financially iresponsible not to change and thats something big business does understand.

It might go higher than that when we're fighting for the last of it. It would change everything. All prices would go through the roof, not just gas, but food, and any non-local products. Heating and ac bills would be out of the question for many of us. I've already cut my driving back to fewer than 1700 miles a year, but I could drive less if I had to. To save electricity, many of us might have to give up our televisions and computers. That would really cause me grief because then I couldn't spew my opinions all over the internet while watching Corporate News Network.

Jack you can best believe that if oil goes that high, that all of our lives will be greatly impacted. High fuel and gas prices means that everything will go up..up and away.

People fail to realize the trickle down affect this will have from the cost of postage, handling and delivery charges to the cost of an airplane ticket. While the economy struggles to recover, and the fact that we get the majority of our oil from other countries, this price would have a greater financial impact than any one could ever imagine.

If we keep just having the printing presses roll, oil will be $250, a loaf of bread will be $10, milk will be $15 a gallon. That's why I've been making a killing on commodities since the election. Not sure what to tell you if you didn't see a weak dollar and inflation coming...except that we warned you.

I'm going to part of the same answer here that I posted on a gold bug blog. Taken by itself $250/barrel oil, or $1500 an ounce gold as was the other topic, elicits a gasp or knee jerk reaction. However, considering Obama/Bernake are printing money like its going out of style hyper inflation is guaranteed. If that is indeed why gold and oil are peaking than its only a matter of relativety. Everything else you spend money on will be adjusted upwardly in proportion.

Mr. Bernanke only wants to do it until he needs glasses. I can only refer him to Nancy Reagan and her "WIN" buttons. That is nothing you can do will do anything to help once double digit inflation has begun, so why not make a button to show your supporters you did something.

Oh, by the way, I'll have as many wind mills on my property as the local government will allow as well as as many solar panels. I've already begun to install panels dedicated to individual needs like an outdoor light.

I will complain more loudly about the price of gas, but I, like millions of others, will continue to pay for it. Nothing will change until we are required to change.

No worries....Obama will bail me out...I just hope he doesn't cap my salary too..

I invest in junior oil stock's. I'll be filthy rich.

Jack, the bad news is, at $250 a barrel for oil, we'll all have to wear protective armor and hire armed guards to take the trip to the gas station with us to protect the money needed for the fill, and the gas in the tank on the way back. And I guarantee the poor attendants will never see a happy customer again. Just to be objective, the good news is, the rich continue to get richer. Some things just never change.

I will just move out of the country. I am getting tired of the USA and all the crap that goes with it.

Dear Jack: If the cost of gasoline ever hit $250.00 a gallon, I would simply have to take my gun outside and shoot my car, putting it out of its misery and mine!

Sincerely,

Gloria

The same thing happened last year. I'm actualy glad that it will happen because as budgets get tighter hopefully people will rethink of what is truly important to them and their families. The green awareness will begin again and then dropoff as oil returns back to normal. Don't over-exaggerate.

Looks like that motorcycle I bought is going to come in real handy!

Jack, if oil goes to $250 a barrel, my marriage will be seriously tested. My beloved, beat-up '99 Dodge pickup which gets 16 mpg will be put up on blocks, and I will be sharing my wife's '06 Honda Civic hybrid. A very delicate scheduling challenge.

Carl
Williston, VT

It's not written in stone that life will get worse with higher oil prices, Jack. The fluctuating prices reflect a system that is no longer working and needs to be fixed.
I've long since given up driving and have lost fifty lbs. We need to focus on healthier, more sustainable lifestyles that do not need to be fed by endless energy consumption and consumerism, and I think that oil prices going out of control will help force governments help us to do so, rather than letting corporations continue to dictate what we think our needs are.
SUV's and petroleum-based disposable packaging are not what I'm working for. Quality of life and time spent with family are worth far more, and I can get that by cutting out the unnecessary "luxuries" we are told we need to depend on. Bigger, better, and more wasteful are bywords my generation grew up with, and they have led to widespread unhappiness and instability.
Herman,
Fresno, CA.

Maybe it's time to start digging in the backyard and hope for a gusher! Is there are oil underground in Florida?,

Jack,
I believe the Obama administration should allow the US oil industry to begin drilling in United States, such as Oklahoma. Oklahoma was once known as the oil capital of the world, with its rich supply of oil throughout the state. While we search for new energy sources, let us use the one source, which is plentiful and we will revitalize our economy and our country.

Dwyane
Bloomington, IN

Jack
I've been thinking about the price of oil for 33 years. Ever since Jed Clampet discovered the bubbling crude I wondered when we would exhaust our supply. Expensive oil and gas will be good for America creating new American jobs while stopping cheap foreign imports from entering our Country. If you listen you can hear the roar of the electric car and clean hydrogen energy.......

Jack,

Nevermind gasoline for cars/trucks, what about heating-oil, diesel for truck delivery of our goods and anything else (well, everything else) that's fossil-fuel based? The world would not come to a complete stop,but there would be a major shift in worldwide economics and dynamics. These are the reasons wars are fought and I do hope you're wrong....

I love how people squawk about how $250 a barrel oil will "force" Americans to conserve and drive more fuel efficient cars. Have these people been living under rocks the last 6 months? Regardless of where oil prices go, Obama and his leftist cronnies will "force" us to conserve and drive more fuel efficient vehicles whether we want to or not. Between forcing car dealerships to close and now talk of the government dictating executive wages for the private sector we draw closer and closer to the USSR (United States Socialist Republic).

That means after I pay for all obamas new taxes,I will have enough money for a gallon of gas and a loaf of bread. I wonder if obama will blame bush .

I pray that we will have become free of our oil dependancy. Otherwise, I'll buy a bike!
Sandy

It eventually will come to us having to take somebody's oil supply. Simple as that. Countries that can, will. That's the way it's always been, too.

Jack , We the people are at the mercy of the oil companies . They will surely break us and we have nothing to do but bear the brunt of there GREED !!!!!!!!

We will stay home more than usual. In time we will get a Hybrid. Here's hoping the wealthy oil Country's will have to drink their oil after they decide there really was no shortage.

People STILL don't get it. People think oil is about gasoline. Gasoline only accounts for around 60% of our consumption. The other 40%? Lubrication for machinery, electric as well as gas powered. Plastics and other synthetic materials are oil based. Paint, ink, rubber products are all oil based. Think because you use public transportation oil won't affect you? Think again, that bus or subway uses oil in some form. Your groceries have to be delivered by a truck that uses oil. The worlds modernization and economy is centered around oil. Oil hits $250 a barrel one or more of three things will happen, 1) we live a 1700s level of existence, 2) civil war breaks out, 3) world wars occur

Parisian Gulf oil producing countries are already preparing for that day and investing billions of dollars on renewable energy. The UAE is one of the world's largest oil producers, has already begun construction on World’s first zero-carbon city, powered entirely by renewable energy. Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates invested $22 billion in the development of “Masdar city” with help of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), in Cambridge, US. Obviously you have the technology and the needs, so if you see it coming why the US did not start yet a similar initiative?

Rany Ibrahim, Halifax, NS

Jack, in 2007 Stephen Leeb, PhD and Glen Strathy wrote: The Coming Economic Collapse, which became a national bestseller. They said then that oil would hit $200 a barrel. I am a firm believer that oil will rise to $200 a barrel and beyond and it will not affect just my life, it will affect everyone. Worldwide oil reserves are limited and non-renewable. It is past the time for first world nations to "get real" and tell the truth about world oil reserves and institute a workable system to promote alternative fuels and energy sources. Why is this so difficult? Personally, I will look to purchasing an electric vehicle and using solar panels on my home in addition to finding better ways to conserve fossil fuels. Thanks Jack.

I am in the oil and gas industry here in Houston, Texas and I think if gas was to go over 100 a barrel we would have a huge problem. We are busy trying to find more oil but its not here in are own country its all overseas. Dont get me wrong when we find oil we make money but at what cost. We need to find what we can here in are own country and stop being dependent on others. Hope it doesnt hit 100 plus but maybe it will force us to dig in are own backyard.

Hope all is well,

Kiah

I would burn my vehicle and hand Jack my keys, that is a scary prediction you just made. Last year when gas reached $140 plus dollars a barrel Americans Were outraged. now is not the time to give
media pundants a chance to make it a reality at $250 dollars a barrel
you can have the car our start walking. I can use the exercise.
Thanks, but noThanks...
Art

here is what you do.

a) save 5000 dollars
b) buy 5000 dollars in shares of an oil company
c) BUY A TESLA
d) sit back and watch your bank account rise.

Jack,

I have suspected gas would sky-rise since last summer when gas was already at an intolerable price range. I bought a diesel vehicle three months ago and am getting ready to convert it to run on Veggie Oil. Diesel is already less than regular in most areas(why there are so few diesel and electric vehicles on the road I do not know??!!??) I will be getting a bike as well; I could use the exercise.GM should place all focus into these alternative choice vehicles.

Andy
New York

I have a bicycle, and intend to use it more and more. Guess how much gas I use riding it, OPEC? ZERO! Also Jack, I have to wonder how much these "experts" have vested in oil, because everytime some "expert" or speculator says something about oil, it goes up, hurting the small guy. Like my Pastor always said, "there's no shortage except for the shortage that man makes". That tells you right there, this gas/oil problem is nothing more than a huge scam. Thanks Jack for listening.

I don't think my life would change all that much. My 11 year old Dodge Neon gets 30mpg, and even though I drive 50 miles a day during my commute, I'm easily able to afford the gas. I just hope that SUV drivers are reminded that they should drive more fuel efficient vehicles, since people have forgotten the lessons of last summer.

This same kind of dispirited speculation based in no sound facts helped bring about last year's crash. This idle journalism of the lazy is trying to do it again, using speculative guesses and the megaphone of the media to drive up prices for no rational reason.

I will commute to work on a bike...

Why don't they get the oil from ND and MT where there is a bigger oill field bigger then the middle east all put toghter. Why because the people in washington want us to think that all the oil is in the middle east and no where else. get reid of all the red tape and we could hve all the oil we want for next too nothing, and then export the rest.

While the cost of gasoline dropped for about 6 months, the cost of everything else in my world went up. Plus my salary dropped 25% after a layoff. The recent 25% increase in gasoline has already put my family budget against the wall. If it were not for the hardcore couponing, we would be eating sauceless pasta 30 days/month. If (when) gasoline returns to $4/gallon I will be sleeping in my car at work a few night’s per week just to make sure my kids can eat.

Jack:
I find it to be odd that the high price of gas is not mentioned as a contributing cause of the financial mess were in. It is my guess that there were mortgage payments missed, cars not bought , trips not taken and a host of other activities stopped simply because of the high cost of gas. Those billions of dollars spent on $4.00 plus gas only served to increase prifits for the oil companies and at the same time help bankrupt not only a nation but the world.

Oil won't hit $250/barrel, at least for several years, particularly since vehicle efficency is going up. Once it reaches a certain point (last year, it was about $150/barrel), demand will fall since a certain contingent of the populace can't afford it, or can't afford it for certain things, and since it's so ubiquitous, it will fall again dramatically like it did last summer. Once the reserves become diminished enough that it will no longer be able to fall to those prices, my prediction is that humanity will take all of the avaliable resources, such as steel, glass, metal, and plastic, and convert the entire infrastructure to alternative forms of energy in less than five years, as well as using renewable forms of energy such as algae-based biofuel. Humanity is stupid, but not insane. The price of oil will inevitably rise, but history has proven time and time again that major societal changes almost always take as long as grass growing, and any changes in our lives will be so small as to unnoticable over the short run.

Amy said: "However, if gas goes up higher than it did last summer…..that is going to halt ALL progress we’ve made on rescuing the economy. What are the oil companies thinking? It will surely crash everything, and put most of Americans into bankruptcy. It is purely selfish, and insane. Ive always thought about how they make billions in profits each year… why cant they be happy with a couple million in profit…. why do they have to be so greedy?"

Oil companies don't set the price of oil. The markets do. Weren't you paying attention last year when this was all discuseed on the news? Sheesh!

For the last year or more my family has been operating under the assumption that this will occur. We are postponing replacement of our current vehicles in anticipation of being able to buy practical plug-in hybrids by 2013 or so. Luckily, the type of driving we do is mostly local so we should be able to go electric only 90+% of the time.
Of course, $250/barrel oil would also impact the price of pretty much everything, precipitating an even worse economic contraction than what we are experiencing now. Economic activity would slow, dropping demand, and thus the price of oil would tumble. Repeat as necessary until populace finally gets how vital it is that we get off of fossil fuels once and for all.

We should raise taxes on oil now so it won't get to $250 per barrel. A tax that would be rebated to drivers based on 23-25 MPG over a reasonable amount, say 14,000 miles per year. The number's not important. Making people move into fuel efficient cars instead of artificial CAFE numbers is more easily achieved if gas at the pump were higher and consistently higher. A great deal of the trouble that the Big 3 got into was from being whipsawed in and out of SUV's. A tax that kept gas in the $3-4 range would lessen balance of payments problems and might even have a side benefit on the national security side. Noticed how USSR collapsed from lack of dollars. We would see a lot less flack from the Middle East if the oil money dried up.

Everything would come to a halt. The cost of transporting goods and services will become prohibitive, and once again another domino affect where good cost so much that people stop buying and therefore are put out of work. You think it was bad a few months ago, you had better really fasten your seat belts if gas hit $250 a barrell.

If I drilled a well in my backyard and struck oil, why would a barrel that I pumped two months ago be worth $30 and today a barrel is worth $80? My fixed cost to pump either barrel would be the same.

If I was an oil man, I could always blame it on supply and demand. The problem is that demand is down and as for supply, there are tankers full of oil offshore because all the onshore storage tanks are already full. Does the word MONOPOLY ring a bell. Obama doesn't control that.

I won't have to purchase a new car .... because as the cost of operating my car becomes to burdensome for a large enough percentage of the population ... then the liberals will make the argument that "everybody has a right to reliable, efficient, transportation" .... and the liberals will put a new program into law that purchases small commuter cars for all workers that live an inconvenient distance from public transporation routes (either electric motors or they will provide gas ration coupons on a monthly basis) ....

Drill Baby Drill, those are great paying jobs and would help states like California with high unemployment and budget deficits.

Makes one wonder what the Iraq conflict was all about should oil prices get to $250 a barrel. Why would this country spend so much time, and blood, and money to get oil that is eventually priced at $250 a barrel, what a deal! What would have happened if we did nothing? Oil may be priced with all of this in mind and that all was for nothing! This is really something worthy of being studied!

Grand Rapids MI. current gas prices are reportedly highest in the country here, at 2.95/gallon regular.

At 250 a barrel, that's near 10 dollars a gallon I assume. At that rate I would hardly drive. There would be no real point to me owning a car. I live close enough to work (3 miles) to ride my bike, or *gasp* even walk.
Public transportation is pathetic in my city, and stops running far to early to be used for nights on the town. I would almost certainly just stay home 90% of the time. Economic meltdown would rapidly follow.

Time to get a horse, feed it off city parks grass and public lands because my lawn sure won't feed that thing, but it will be far cheaper than gas.

Lets be real folks. It isn't going to go anywhere near that high anytime soon. Sure it spiked up to near $150 based solely on speculation, but what did that do to the oil market? Expensive oil really benefits nobody as it will shut down the world economy and cause the price to drop like a rock as we saw last year.

Society as it currently stands cannot support $250 oil. You will see oil wars in the middle east before it gets that bad.

Whose to say that people won't be stealing gasoline on a mass scale at some point? Maybe that will hurt the BIG OIL profits!

What life? Everything goes up! Groceries, labor, etc. $250 a barrel put's us all back on horseback and living in caves! Life as we know it would come crashing down I'm afraid. Unless we get real serious about other sources of energy Osama's Bin Laden's cave he's hiding in is going to seem like a palace compared to what we are going to have.

Albert - Bermuda Dunes, Ca.

That is the perfect scenario for class warfare. Millions of Americans
will not be able to travel to and from work. The standard of living will
detoriorate and there will be tremendous divisiveness between
the wealthy and the vast majority. This picture is so bleak and
realistic it should scare our government and private industry into
immediate action on the level of Project Manhattan of the early
1940's.

Armageddon!!!
From what I've read so far, its doomsday in the making folks!!

Oil is a global commodity and it does not matter if it's foreign oil or domestic oil. A barrel of oil from Saudi Arabia is going to cost $250 just as a barrel of oil of Texas.

Right now investors are looking for somewhere to put their money and there's going to be a run up of oil prices as people start jumping in. And like housing, it's going to hit a bubble and then pop (remember when oil was over $140 a barrel before retreating to $30 a barrel?)

If oil suddenly hits $250 a barrel, I would advise those with oil stocks to sell as that price will not sustain itself.

Big Oil has jerked us around since the Standard Oil Days. Somebody throws a switch and prices go up or down. Today they are just more shameless about it because nobody goes to jail, regardless of how much they loot us.

At $250 per barrel, it will be much harder for them to hide from the law.

I will sit back and listen to the "progressives" criticize Pres. Obama the way they criticized dwuby. Yea, I really beleive that will happen.

I am an airline pilot and I guess once it reaches $250 I can kiss that career goodbye! On a positive, skyrocketing oil will be the catalyst for change that we need as far as our energy policy is concerned. National security would be the best it has ever been as we ween ourselves off of the black gold usher in the futuristic economy 2.0.

We are silly selfish Americans... only thinking about how $250/barrel affects us, but not thinking about how it would affect the rest of the world. The world uses our dollar to pay for oil but if it hits $250 I would expect war, world war, on the horizon.. .

Buy a scooter that gets 90mpg and use that to commute to work, take mass transit, telecommute, consolidate trips, etc. $250/barrel is not that big a deal, there is plenty of fat to be trimmed.

This is a self correcting issue. If the price gets that high, habits will change lowering demand and those with oil will make it available to capture the value which will increase the supply.
Hopefully people will continually curve their behavior and won't have to depend on foreign oil after a couple more of these cycles.

It will be great! Living in the heart of oil country in North Dakota and with family owned mineral rights, I will quit my job and live off oil money! Can't get to 250 per barrel soon enough for me...

Maybe some of that American ingenuity and guts will finally start to show up and I'm not referring to our Congress.

If oil hits $250 a barrel, I'll be able to quit my current soul-killingly dull job and do something I love instead without worrying about it making money at first. This is because they're pumping oil out of some old family land out in Texas and giving us royalty checks. Our cut isn't that big, and they aren't pumping a whole lot, so even at their height last summer they barely covered the mortgage and utilities, but I figure at $250 a barrel, we should have enough to be able to take a few chances, maybe even let me change careers.

Of course, I understand ours is the exception to the rule. Most people don't have an increase in income when their fuel expenses go up. I just thought I'd post this to show that there are two sides to every situation, and it's not just the big oil companies that make money.

Still, I'd be willing to give up the extra income if we could really give up our addiction to oil and replace it with clean, renewable energy. IF nobody wanted what they're pumping out in Texas, I'd learn to live with a reduced budget and fewer options.

The nation will be very hard pressed in an economic sense. Unemployment will be sky high and inflation will be out of control. People who hate, our country, Christians and Jews will be in control of more money and power than at any point in history. Those folks advocate wiping us off the map. They will with ease have the economic resources to do so and a moral belief system that will not only justify it but demand action toward it. $250 a barrel will lead us into the great oil WARS to preserve our very existence.

I will retire a very rich man. My kids will never have to work. My grandkids will never have to work. Bring it on now.

If oil stays at $80, the energy industry will take over from the auto industry in terms of layoffs.

Everyone is saying we have to find other energy sources. Well how about the billions upon billions of barrels of oil that we have here in the USA. Mr. obama doesnt want us to drill might hurt a snake or some random creature in the middle of no where that no one knows about. Or up in alaska where its too cold for anything to live. Why not drill there. Its easily accessible.

"Russian energy group Gazprom" sounds about as reliable as other industry expert Joe Q Blogger.

You are looking at the last surge in oil as the move to smaller cars, alternate fuels and electric cars starts to wind up. The real cost of oil in the ground today in the middle East is less than $5.00 a barrel, and in reality oil is a natural by-product of internal pressures at the earth core churning natural occurring elements into crude.
It may hit 250.00 if manipulated to that price, but the reality is as I have written.....Time to short the market

Lets do what we did before and blame the president. Thanks Obama.

Captain Shill is dead on, it's got nothing to do with energy demands or oil reserves or who we're fighting with this week or how much oil is left on earth. It's all about greed, these guys balloon their predictions so news agency's can report on them, and keep us paniced and scared – then sure enough the price per gallon goes up at the neighborhood gas station, for no good reason. America needs to produce a better quality fuel efficient vehicle. If I didn't have to I wouldn't be driving an American car, but right now that's all I can afford.

Not much for me my drive to work is only 3 miles each way. But to the rest of the country it will completely blow away any glimmer of hope towards a rejuveinated economy.

The problem is this:
We've allowed ourselves to become dependent on foreign supply to nearly an 80% import level. Where we have failed; is to produce our own product.
The biggest obstacle that has prevented that in the last 20 years and more-so today than ever are: our coveted "Save the Planet" , "Green", "Tree-hugging" environmentalists. Let me emphasize the word, "Mental"...These people have no scientific basis to cause us to be in such a position. It is only their personal beliefs that THEY can save the planet while China and other countries emit vast amounts of pollution into the air unregulated and at a very low or no cost to their economy financially. Therefore we cannot compete or make a difference in the atmosphere no matter how much money we spend. Green technology is a pipe dream that would take years in order to meet the demand of the energy needed for this country. If we could send a message of independence to the foreign oil suppliers that we are drilling and finding our own supply of crude oil then they wouldn't have this economic straggle-hold on us. We need to push these tree- huggers back into a corner and take care of business, or our way of life will cease to exist.

Crazy Idea not seen since the 70's

Maybe we could build Nuclear Power plants and Oil Refineries

Not if – but when.

It's Manhattan project time – in terms of needed intellect and resources – to create clean energy and better mass transit.

Where's the outrage – why aren't we dramatically ramping up our policies to address peak oil and the horrendous problems of an oil based economy.

It aint gonna last forever kids – get to it! And we'll all breath easier.

"Jim" makes an excellent point–it is unlikely that oil prices will ever reach $250/barrel because they are limited by the relative costs of the alternatives. That is true on both the energy-production level (because high oil prices make it worth it to mine oil sands, brew ethanol, etc) and the energy-consumption level (because higher gas prices make it more worthwhile for us to cut out unnecessary driving, use carpools, telecommute, or whatnot).

If gas goes up to $250 a gallon I will eat less, drive less, shop less, and just keep one car on the road. What ever happened to the cheap gas promised to us for invading Iraq. Oil tankers the size of football fields have been syphening oil from Iraq and hoarding in here in the US. It is the oil companies that caused the economic crisis in my life.

In a sad way, high price of oil seems to force us conserve more. We currently have 3 cars (all are fuel efficient cars). If the price reaches $250 a barrel, I guess that we might get rid of 1 car, plus carpool with co-worker(s) on some days, and take public transportation on other days. We'd take our budget from other areas (such as entertainment, and dining out) and use it on gasoline.

"Experts predict the price of oil could soon hit $250 a barrel."
Which experts? Oh, you must mean these guys:
"Russian energy group Gazprom is repeating last year’s estimates of $250 dollars barrel."
Based on their accuracy the first time around, I'm not putting a lot of stock in their opinion. Oil prices may very well spike again, but I doubt that Gazprom's crystal ball suddenly stopped giving horrible advice.

It would be the best thing that could happen to this country. At $12 a gallon, you will see a massive new push for alternate fuel sources. Only way we will ever see progress on this matter!

In my beach city of San Clemente a scooter store recently opened. Yesterday, while waiting for a light to change I read their sign:

Starting at $1200 and 90 miles per gallon.

I shall be checking them out if oil keeps going up. Plus, one debacle in the Middle East and we could be paying $10/gallon.

I wouldn't like it because everything would be more expensive. Anything shipped from somewhere else would cost more, which in our global society is basically everything we consume. I wouldn't like it, but I'd survive. Right now, I drive a VW TDI that gets about 33-34 miles per gallon between my work and home. I was fortunate enough to buy a home near my work and my dayly commute is 14 Miles round trip. So, my commute still wouldn't be that expensive, but everything else would be.

Anyway, we would adapt and move on with our lives. Once the pain of the cure (Electic vehicles, wind/solar electricity, fuel cells, nuclear energy, etc.) becomes less than the pain of the problem (diminishing oil supplies, pollution, endless political debates over the efficacy and evils of various energy sources), we'll solve the problem relatively quickly and get on with our lives.

Simply put, our economy can't handle $250 per barrel oil. Our economy will crash, maybe even into Depression levels, and with as much debt as our government currently has, it may spell the end for the land of the free.

I'll grease the chain on my cannondale f400 and not worry one bit about getting through town.

I'm all for $250 oil since since it's the only way we'll rewrite our energy policy and break our dependency on foreign oil.

As it's said "necessity is the mother of invention" and in this case also the mother for putting down big oil interests, lobbying and politics when it comes to oil.

We've heard all this before. I'm not for ignoring a dwindling supply, but it's hard to believe anything coming from any sector that speculates on the future. I'm retired, and $250 a barrel means staying at home. Hundreds of thousands of us will do that, and, simultaneously, production of fuel efficient vehicles will increase. Then, in another 2 or 3 years, prices will come down, and we'll go through all of this again. Nobody knows. There are no experts out there.

I live on $145.00 in FS and the good heart of my parents, thanks to my medical condition. People need to go back to the basic's.
Stop eatingout, driving SUV's, and buying stuff they don't need.
All we are doing is lining the pockets of the Saudis.
Fill your own pockets by saving your money.
Didnt' anyonye listen 8 months ago when gas prices shot up? Are society has such a short attention span its unbelievable.

May have to reduce my golf games from three a week to two a week or keep playing three days a week and not play in the skins game or just play better win some of the skins and therefore I could play three days a week and play in the skins game also.

Why would you even suggest that price? Now oil will go to $250 a barrel. Shhhhhhhhhh; don't give OPEC, the oil companies, or traders any ideas about rasing the prices please!

What part of this problem don't we understand ??

1. Our goverment lack of an energy policy ?

2. We have enough reserves on and off shore to
maintain us for fifty years or more, with-out
depending on foreign oil.

3. Alternate fuel is not going to be developed overnight
or in the next few years. This takes time. During this
period see # 1 and # 2.

4. Oil can and will be cost effective and not destroy what
is left of our economy if again # 1 and # 2.

Damn, we really have some stupid people in this country. Why ??

I'm out of the driving game at $3.00/gallon. The only times I use the car above $3.00/gallon is to go to the grocery store. Thankfully, I have a job which allows me to telecommute.

I'm planning on shopping for necessary items online. Frankly, I shop much less when I shop online; there's a lot less impulse buying.

Omaha car

My '75 Dodge Dart Swinger - old faithful slant six "Iron Horse" - can go quite a spell running dry of oil.

One dashboard instrument light did burn out recently. Can't figure out why after only 34 years in service.

Buy American!

At the gas staiton, I close my eyes, fill the tank & drive away.

Slowly. Heck, I'm retired. . .

I just came back from the Netherlands and fuel over there was $1.34 a liter and we're complaining. People over there either ride bikes, or use public transportation. I didn't see one fat person over there. I wonder what form of transportation they might be using.

Whee! Are we having fun yet. This good news about oil and gasoline just makes me want to shout. I'm thinking that the 22 mile trip to town from my rural home is not going to be much fun on a moped. We have a lot of hills in Tennessee.

The speculators really need to be banned from investing in strategic national resources. Their activities can destroy an economy and our national security shouldn't be held hostage to a select few.

It will be better. I probably will telecommute more and enjoy working from home.

And the government thinks they should add more taxes to fuel. Yeah, that's a great idea!!

we could do something crazy like coal to diesel conversation actually use our own resources that God left us, now wouldn't that be something?

Oil at half of that had me close to the point where it wasn't worth it to go to work.
Most of northern NH and Maine aren't counted in all those fancy stats. We would be reduced to subsistence farming and barter becoming like a 3rd world nation.

I don't think it will get that high, especially if the oil companies start producing record profits again- there would be a huge wave of American citizens showing up at the oil company headquarters asking for their share.

We will do like others people in Asia and Europe. My friend no more 6 cylinders car but something we call bike, moped and motorcycle.

There would be no economic recovery and no matter what any politician from any party tried it would not work. Like most people, at that point it would be much cheaper for me to not work than to get to work. Beginninglast fall and going for several months thereafter people cut back on their driving significantly and oil came down. we can control the price oil. Don't drive anywhere you can bike or walk and let's send those oil executives into bankruptcy along with the car makers.