The "Hydrogen Highway" - California's answer to higher gas prices. 

By Allen Gibson

The price of oil surpassed forty dollars a barrel this Spring - a high not seen except for a few days prior to the first Gulf War.The experts agree that the price is likely to stay high for the next few years, and after that it may go - are you ready for this? - even higher.

Famous Texas Oilman T. Boone Pickens, speaking recently to a large crowd at the Petroleum Club in Midland, Texas, predicted that oil would never fall below $30 a barrel again.

"I think you'll see $50 a barrel before you see $30," declared Mr. Pickens.

Is the high cost of energy a surprise? Did no one see this coming?

No, and yes.

Oil industry observers have been saying for decades that oil production will peak soon, that supplies will begin to drop on a global scale and that, someday, we will just plain run out. We aren't there yet. Production, in fact, has been slowly but steadily increasing for the past two decades. But what most people seem to have missed is the surge in demand and consumption in the worlds' two most populous nations, China and India.

India and China - two nations whose over three billion population account for about half the people on the planet, have been modernizing and globalizing their economies at a truly stunning rate in the last decade. Millions more people producing millions more products, driving millions more cars, wanting - and getting - the benefits of a consumer lifestyle. The demand side of the oil equation is growing fast, while the supply side is growing slowly. Does that sound like a higher price to any of the economists out there?

To get some perspective on just how huge the impact of China has become and, barring a major depression or collapse, is going to continue to be, consider these statistics from a recent analysis by Frank Liu at: http://www.investorideas.com/Companies/China-AsiaStocks/China_Opportunities.asp

"This year, China will likely surpass Japan as the world's second largest consumer of oil after the US.But the per capita use in China is just 1.7 barrels a year, compared with 30 barrels per person here, and close to 20 barrels in Japan and South Korea.China has become increasingly dependent on oil imports, which jumped 30% in 2003. Now, China imports a third of its oil, and the Energy Information Administration forecasts that by 2020, it will import 7 million barrels a day, which is over a quarter of today's OPEC production."

Full article:

http://www.renewableenergystocks.com/Companies/RenewableEnergy/Hydrogen_Highway.asp

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