"...high gas prices do tend to encourage R&D into alternatives and makes them more cost-comparable."

Where on earth did you get that??? There was a 'gas shortage' in the 70s, and prices went up fast and stayed there. America's response to this was to produce a lot of big, heavy, gas-guzzling SUVs, motor homes and Hummers.

If, during that time, anyone came up with a good idea on how to improve efficiency very much, the oil companies must have bought all the rights and stored them in the same warehouse with the Lost Ark of the Covenant.

For me, gas prices have gone up from $0.25 to $3.50, 14 times. Is there a word for that?

The current level of the stock market is a sign of inflation. The high prices of everyday necessities are a sign of inflation. Inflation is a sign of bad management and an inflated money supply, NOT the natural order of things.

It has been said that the economy of the Roman Empire was a "plunder economy", based on looting existing resources rather than producing anything new. Does this sound at all familiar?

Just wait.

Sue