I read up on the subject and the price of a barrel of oil is indeed expected to pass the 100$ dollar line in the course of 2008.
While I applaud that in a certain way (it will benefit human health and the environment), and teach humans a valuable lesson (nature does not give a shit about humanoids), I dread the effects it will have on the distribution and the price of food and primary necessities (clothing, heating, ...).
I betcha governments will come up with all sorts of half-baked ideas to keep the masses, the common people, the poorer parts of town content. They'll probably come up with petrol cards that give poor people a cheaper price to fill up their cars, while the rich will probably have to cough up the full price or a little more. Stuff like that. Typical capitalistic manoeuvres to avoid internal conflicts.
Thing is, though, that none of these 'solutions' will help to avoid the big finale. 400$ per barrel will only be payable for the military structure and the superrich.
Me, personally, I predict more national problems than international ones. Sure: some countries will be invaded for their black gold, and some countries might eventually be annexed, but each country seperately will suffer internal problems the likes they have never seen.
And it's going fast now. You can bet your arse that Peak Oil has already happened. It's down the slope for all of us now, and seeing that the demand is only rising, so will the prices. The price of oil will be a tobogan that's lost all control.
Wait until major cities start to experience permanent blackouts. Wait until NASA stops its space program because they lack the fuel to launch rockets and space shuttles?
Wait until you have to spend winters in an unheated flat or house.
Wait until you can't go to work in Brussels anymore because you live in Gent and what you earn each day isn't even sufficient to fill up your tank.
The worse is yet to come, but if you have an eye for details you can already see the fungus of poverty, disease and war attaching itself to our beloved capitalist societies. And fungus grows like hell.
It's time to stop thinking in decennia. It's time to start thinking in years. We are all characters in the prologue of what is bound to become the biggest tragedy in human history. And Chapter One is right around the corner.
I wish you all the best of luck.
