Before this week’s historic 4 day, $16 sell off (though still only a 10% drop) in the price of oil, anyone who wasn’t blaming speculators for the high price of oil had the crooked finger of blame pointed directly at the rapidly developing economies of India and China, where a dearth of environmental protections and a generous fuel subsidy was feeding massive demand.

While that theory might hold ground over the short term, the fact is that India, China and most of the remainder of the Asia-Pacific sphere produces very little oil. This import-only market makes those countries highly vulnerable the price fluctuations, which can lead to decreased productivity, economic busts, and political instability. 

As you might expect, enterprising investors and concerned governments have responded to these eventualities by cranking up development of biofuel solutions, rapidly rivaling the level of interest seen the in the developed economies of the West.  Should this trend continue, we may be left with no one left to blame but ourselves for high oil prices.