From a reader:
Jonah
To follow up on the natural gas industry; it is incredible how one hears almost nothing of the price of natural gas. It is oil all of the time. Why? 1.) because the people in the media drive and fly so it affects them immediately 2.) oil is dirty and polluting. 3.) Geopolitics and the Middle East 4.) The manufacturing sector doesn’t use oil. They mainly use natural gas, with some still on coal.
This last one is the real problem. As someone who markets and manages natural gas supply to industrial end users, I can tell you something has to give. It is not just that people will pay out the wazoo this winter for their personal gas bill, but it is going to force the manufacturing sector’s hand even more to countries where the cost of natural gas is much lower.
When Germany begins to look attractive because of energy cost, you know there is a problem. Sorry to be so long.