maxkeiser.com purports that it certainly could be, AND this could be the reason for the recent boom in oil prices.

Quoted is the London Evening Standard that reports that Bernstein Research has been spying on the country in question, and has concluded that the Chinese are actively hoarding supplies.

It could be dollar-related. In any case, crude oil prices are supported and will continue to be going forward. (This means oil prices are not going down any time soon.)

Public Radio’s wonderful show, Car Talk has just launched a special “Hybrid Zone” on its website.

We got all kinds of valuable info, such as:
All about hybrids
How they work
The different kinds of hybrids

Even found the answer to which hybrid is right for us in the FAQs. Also found out that bigger is not better as far as engine size goes. Give us a small carbon footprint, please.

Tom and Ray’s weird car humor is nor for everybody, but they do know their stuff.

Henry Blodget’s crystal ball says there should be.

How to get people to conserve fossil fuel and move toward renewable energy?

With, among other things, a gas tax.

Not a flat-rate gas tax. A floating-rate one…that would adjust to the price of oil (and help minimize price spikes).

And not now, because it would be another hammer blow to the economy. In a few years, so people and industries have enough time to adjust.

So maybe not tomorrow, but 2012 could do it, and so would $5/gal gas.

Maybe you thought higher prices gave stations license to gouge, but that is just not the case.

When prices climb, stations have to reduce their usual 10-15 cent margin to compete, so they earn less than usual.

And don’t get them started on the credit card users. That costs them another 2.5% on purchases.

Of course, there is a defense:

“Prices go up like a rocket and come down like a feather,” says Richard Gilbert, a professor of economics at UC Berkeley.

We don’t think we’re telling you anything you don’t know on that score.

Energy Sec. Steven Chu has some good news/bad news for us.

Even though the economy is in bad shape at the moment, oil prices are rising in anticipation of recovery.

“One thing is for certain: when the economy picks up, just based on supply and demand, the price will go up,” said Chu.

Oh, and he’s for the climate change bill, even though it will give away a bunch of carbon permits to big polluters.

We have to start somewhere.