The latest from Chavez...

Hugo Chavez seems to think oil is heading towards $100 a barrel.

That is, of course, assuming that the United States stands still. The other option, of course, is for the U.S. to start seriously pushing to use the 1.3 trillion barrels of oil that is available via oil shale and the couple hundred billion tons of coal for synthetic fuels.

That is the short-term solution. The medium-term solutions are more ethanol and nuclear power. Long-term, we need better solar cells and other technology for our power needs - and we need to get off Earth and into the rest or the solar system - and beyond.

Oil up...

Oil has hit $74 a barrel. The short and medium-term answer to this is very simple: Biofuels (including ethanol), flex-fuel vehicles, oil shale, and coal-to-liquid.

Once that's done, we can work on putting a stake through OPEC's heart for good.