Drop in Oil Prices a Bad Thing?

Oil nears $100 a barrel ahead of Opec meeting
from TimesOnline, via Instapundit

Glenn Reynolds comments, "I suspect we'll see production cuts. I'm not sure it's a good thing if oil drops much below $100/barrel anyway, as it will kill off alt-energy and conservation efforts that we're very likely to need anyway."

I don't know that I agree with Glenn's assessment. At this point, it seems as if our flirtation with $4 gas has scared consumers enough to create a semi-permanent lifestyle change, at least among the more common folk. It obviously hasn't stopped Hollywood and environmental advocates and touring pop acts from hopping on private jets, but amongst regular people, I think we have realized that dropping a ton of money on a gas-guzzling SUV isn't the wisest choice, whether gas is $4 or $2. The automobile industry has swerved away from the late-90s, early-00s (read as "aughts") mode of thinking, and has already invested so much money in developing alternative modes of transportation that it would be counter-productive to pull the plug now. There has proven to be a market for high-mileage vehicles, be they hybrids, or electric, or simply standard-fueled cars that get better gas mileage, and I don't think that will change. Like recycling, fuel conservation has quickly become pretty firmly entrenched in our national psyche - it's something that doesn't hurt to do and it saves a few extra dollars, something that most people would be happy to do in this era.