From: "Mark" 


"Geo"  wrote: ...So how come the coal
market isn't selling coal at the same price? For the
> same grade hard coal I can pay anywhere from $100 to $200 per ton
> depending
> on who I buy it from and how far away the coal is transported from. Yet
> with
> gas that's not the case.

That's because there's no appreciable consumer demand for coal, it is not a
commodity in that regard. Perhaps you'll now tell me that some large number
of Ohioans still use coal for heat, but the coal suppliers know that if
they push the envelope and all of them start charging $250, that you'll all
switch to natural gas, electric, or oil heat.

Gasoline has universal demand that transcends geographic considerations. In
NJ, up until this week, we've enjoyed lower prices, that according to
various talking heads, is because we have both refineries in state and busy
receiving ports. Those two factors may have played a small part, and may
again, but in the interim the reality is gasoline is in demand throughout
the country universally so other than the differences in
"tax-per-gallon" from state to state, the price will naturally
level out amongst all states. There is no threat that the consumer will
switch to another source -- even the hybrid people are still buying gas for
the tank and consuming oil/coal for the batteries.

If we go to virtual offices faster, we'll do more to cut demand on oil than
even the most sophisticated hybrid/hydrogen scheme ever will, because those
"solutions" still require the person to commute unnecessarily to
some brick and mortar location too far away. So the ultimate answer is stay
home all week in your virtual office and head out on the weekends for
"real" human interaction. Oil would drop to $5 a barrel if we
could pull that off -- and no one would care what price it was anyway as
they'd not be using it in the same degree as now.

--- BBBS/NT v4.01 Flag-5