Here’s this week’s first uplifting post-holiday piece on the looming disaster of rising gas prices.
The story is an interesting mixed bag of economic disaster and American ingenuity to adapt. Some of the adaptations the story mentions are changes already under way, as recent reports indicate demand is falling – despite the continued protestations from oil company executives that the current spike is driven by supply and demand.
In our business, tele-commuting is getting a hard look under the name of “mojo,” or mobile journalist.
And some of the economic disasters are developing, as foot traffic slows at restaurants, movie theaters and retailers across the country.
There’s a little comfort in the opinion of experts that gas won’t hit $10 a gallon. And there’s a little more comfort in the rumblings coming out of refineries that gas supplies are larger than America’s being led to believe.
But there’s no comfort to the lack of any end in the price hikes – or any credible explanation of their cause – in sight.