Here is my prediction. For quite a few more years, gas prices will continue to increase. We will start enjoying the gas prices that our european pals have been paying for years. At the same time, public outcry will result in an increase in energy-efficient vehicles, where MPG will usurp HP as the main selling feature. We will see more hybrids, more electric vehicles, and more smaller "commuter" vehicles designed specifically for short runs to the store or workplace.

After a while, consumers will not be able to buy gas anymore, at least not in the quantities it was previously available. It might be available in canisters, like BBQ propane or campstove propane, to fuel things like generators or small power tools. Even so, most of these will be electric or some other yet-undeveloped tech.

The thing that must happen to prevent a worldwide meltdown is the creation of a cheap, renewable fuel source with an energy density close to that of gas. We do not yet have any fuel source that matches the energy density or specific power of gas, though hydrogen (high power, low density) and battery/supercapacitor technology (low power, high density) when combined may come close.

I'm wary of hydrogen though, as it does require lots of energy to create. Where will the energy to refine hydrogen come from? Certainly not oil. It would have to come from nuclear or renewable sources, which begs the question: Why not just skip the hydrogen step altogether, and go straight to electric? Power could be generated as it is now, and also using new solar and wind farms. It would be delivered to homes, and each home would become a refueling station for all the family's needs, from charging up the car(s) to charging the lawn mower. It's a lot cheaper to deliver electricity over wires, than it is to ship liquid fuel across the country.

That said, I can see that gas/petroleum will continue to be used in aircraft for quite a bit longer than in cars and trucks. This is simply because we do not have any fuel source that is mature, dense or safe enough to power an aircraft capable of trans-oceanic flight. Airlines will becaome the major consumers of petroleum, second perhaps to the plastics industry.

Things are going to change in the next ten years, you can be sure of it. People won't give up their comfy SUVs in one generation, or even two. The guy who invents a viable high-density energy storage system will become one rich louie...