High fossil-fuel prices will impact country real estate

What would you do if the price of gasoline—now at more than $3 per gallon—were to rise to $10? Or more? Gripe, that’s for sure. Blame somebody.

Some of us would march to Washington—on foot, of course–demanding lower prices, threatening legislators with bone-dry dipsticks as we clutch dead sparkplugs in our cold hands.

And a few of us would start running our cars on old French-fry oil or the collected fumes of Willie Nelson’s organic cigars.

Whether it’s $5 or $10, gasoline prices will rise over time.

Petroleum reserves are finite, and the world may be at or near the point of peak production. We will pump less oil in the future, and new supplies are more expensive to extract. Global output grew by less than one half of one percent in 2006.

While supply is weakening, global demand continues to rise. The risks and question marks about oil-producing countries are now tacking on more than $30 to every barrel of $100 oil. Read more