Dropping fuel prices good and bad

To the Point

Next week, OPEC will be meeting about the price of oil: down from $147 a barrel last July to $44 today. Meantime, the price of gasoline in the US just might go to a dollar a gallon. That’s good news for consumers, but trouble for global warming and international stability.

The Automobile Association of America says gasoline prices have dropped in the US for the eighty-second day in a row, to an average of $1.70 a gallon.

Worldwide, the price of oil is dropping so fast that dollar-a-gallon gasoline is possible sometime next year. That sounds like good news, but it’s the product of a global recession, which the World Bank is now calling the worst since the Great Depression. Would Americans jump back into gas-guzzling SUV’s? What about energy independence and alternative fuels? Should gasoline taxes be increased to combat global warming and promote international stability?

Guests:
– Vincent Lauerman: President, Geopolitics Central
– Robert Samuelson: Contributing Editor, "Newsweek" and the "Washington Post"
– John White: Executive Director, Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technology
– Toby Jones: Fellow in the Oil Energy and Middle East Program, Princeton University
– David Kreutzer: Senior Policy Analyst, Heritage Foundation

Hosted by award-winning journalist Warren Olney, "To the Point" presents informative and thought-provoking discussion of major news stories — front-page issues that attract a savvy and serious news audience.

More "To the Point"

Invest in independent global news

The World is an independent newsroom. We’re not funded by billionaires; instead, we rely on readers and listeners like you. As a listener, you’re a crucial part of our team and our global community. Your support is vital to running our nonprofit newsroom, and we can’t do this work without you. Will you support The World with a gift today? Donations made between now and Dec. 31 will be matched 1:1. Thanks for investing in our work!