We in North America are in the process of exiting the most prosperous, luxurious, and self-indulgent period in history.  We are the spoiled generation, living off the non-renewable stored  wealth of oil and natural gas energy.  We have spent our wealth foolishly, and continue to do so.  Now this period is ending.  The current price of oil at $117 is about 5X the price of 8 years ago.  And nobody knows how much higher it might go, although there are some predictions of $300 in the next decade.  And nobody is predicting a reduction.  Hang onto your hats because everything, absolutely everything that you do is dependent on oil; oil at $30 a barrel!

So when you awaken in the morning and look over at the clock,  the cost of the electricity it runs on is going up due to the cost of lubricating the generators at the hydro dam, plus all of the other equipment for maintenance of the dam and the thousands of miles of transmission lines that bring the power to your clock.  And your house is crammed full of electrical appliances, as is your office/store/warehouse. Your breakfast, even without the power to run your fridge/stove/microwave/coffeemaker, is dependent on oil to make the fertilizer that grows the food and to power the trucks to transport it to your store.  And then your car needs it to pick up the food.  And you haven’t even left the house yet…