Oil tops $111 per barrel, gold tops $1,000 an ounce, the dollar hits record lows against the Euro and Yen, the markets are taking it in the shorts.
I can't seem to help but blame the 24 hour news outlets for part of the problem. Not all of the problem, but part of it. People are constantly being bombarded with bad news about the economy. The news repeats those same reports hour after hour until the average person is overwhelmed and decides they'd better not spend the money on that new item they want. They don't buy the item, the store doesn't sell that item, therefore the factory doesn't sell that item to the store and cuts back on workforce.
The price of oil does affect everyone, but the effect could be somewhat controlled with a little bit of conservation on the public's part. Simple things, like combining errands into one trip. Carpooling won't work for everyone, but when it does work - carpool. Public mass transport isn't available to everyone, either. But where it exists, use it.
We need a source of alternate energy. I don't understand why the oil companies don't spend part of their record profits to find that source. If the oil companies created some sort of alternate energy, they'd own it so they'd still be making those profits - even though energy use would be changing - just from a different source. One byproduct of that would be that it would hit Iran and Russia where it hurts - in the pocket.
Would your boat motors run on moonshine? It's 180 proof or stronger - that's 90% alcohol.