I came across a story in Canada's National Post entitled Suicide bomber detonates empty fuel tanker near police station in Tikrit, and there located just under an accompanying photo of a man mourning a family member killed in the attack, was an advert for the civilian Hummer, which I consider a rolling billboard of our excesses and dependence on oil.

Neither the Post nor advertisers using Akamai's network likely intended the display of the story and these two images side by side, but I thought it made for unintended, if sad, irony.

It is difficult to see any near term hope for positive change. The US Energy Bill, recently passed, completely misses the mark. The one area where the US could easily and quickly make a difference in the international energy scene is to focus on reducing demand. Since 60% of all US imported oil goes to transportation, taking steps in this area would have a positive long-term impact.