Surface coal mines have shut down.

[Roland]

I'm not sure about Canada but $3.00 a gallon for gasoline has been the magic number for the shale deposits in the U.S - at least according to previous estimates.
[right][snapback]88157[/snapback][/right]

HA! Find me anywhere that has $3.00 a gallon anymore. I dare you. Our prices over here on the east coast, which are ALWAYS way less than the west coast, just shot up 50 cents in one day, and are expected to rise equally more over the next month. I shudder to think about how bad the west coast is doing.

Insane gasoline, heating oil, and natural gas prices are going to cripple this country, especially here in the NE, and all across the northern U.S. Down south, you have hurricaes and tornadoes and whatnot, but up north we have freezing winters, and here we have Nor'Easters. Too many people are going to be left in the cold, literally, this winter because they'll be too broke to pay for heat, gasoline, and electricity. This winter better be a mild one here in New England, or the death rate is gonna rise sharply.

Not trying to downplay anywhere else in the U.S., especially in lieu of Katrina (I wish I could help more; I wish so much I could), but at least your winters down there are mild. Up here, we have enough people dying in their cars from suffocation because they were too stupid to stay inside in a big snowstorm; too many people getting killed in car accidents, falling limbs and power / telephone lines due to hundreds of pounds of ice and snow weighing them all down; too many days of cities all over being completely shut down due to snow clogging the streets, knocking out power / telephone. With the way prices are skyrocketing for essential fuel sources, I shudder to think of what this winter will be like, especially if we get hit as hard this year as we did last year. It's gonna be a damn tight winter.