$20 Per Gallon

Imagine a world in which the price of oil continues to go up, and up, and up. Think about the immediate impact that would have on our lives. The price of petrol has already impacted our choice of cars but there are more, not-so-obvious changes on the horizon that Chris Steiner tracks brilliantly in this provocative work. Consider the following: people who own homes in rural areas will soon realize that no-one wants their houses because nobody wants to live too far away from their jobs. Telecommuting will expand and trains wil become the mode of national transportation once more as driving and flying becomes too expensive. Families will begin to migrate to milder areas as the price of heating in colder areas in the winter is too high. Cheap everyday items made of plastic will disappear because of the rising price of production. And that's just the start of a huge, overwhelming domino effect that will transform lives in the years to come. Steiner, an engineer by training sees how a simple but constant rise in oil and related prices will re-structure our lifestyle. But what may surprise readers is that all of these changes may not be negative.