People are mad because the price of gasoline has gone up. They want cheap, cheap oil so they can drive to work alone in a car instead of car pooling or taking public transportation. Oil has not even come close to peak oil prices adjusted for inflation. June 1979 monthly average peak = $100.52 per barrel in June 2006 dollars. June 2006 monthly average oil price = $62.85 per barrel. http://inflationdata.com/inflation/Inflation_Rate/Historical_Oil_Prices_Chart.asp Business Week Magazine examples of 2005 profit margins: Banks 19% Pharmaceutical 18% Software 14% Household products 13% Real estate 10% Energy companies 9% Insurance 8% All industry 8%