We may or may not have used half the oil on earth, but cheap petroleum has definitely peaked -- and for all practical purposes the flow of oil has probably hit the ceiling -- and cannot meet the global demand for all the uses that have historically grown out of it.

Why were the Saudis so reluctant to do what it is in their best interests -- and what they have often done before - increase supply and stabilize world markets? And why would they put a sharp stick in the eye of their friend, George Bush, and then later only grudgingly agree to a temporary, minor increase in production?

And why for the last many years haven't the major oil companies not made any new investment in their refining infrastructure in this country?

It's an open secret that cannot be gainsaid by the "deniers of peak oil." The myth has been shattered, and the first pyschological tremors from the realization that a key resource has its limits, is making itself felt in the marketplace.