Falling oil prices show free market is still working

So much for reviving the idea of processing oil shale in Utah. Oh, and you can forget about those ridiculous one-day gas boycotts.

And those pumps that automatically shut off when your debit card reaches $49.99? Don't worry about telling station managers to recalibrate them, unless you want to pull your big-rig up to the pump.

President-elect Barack Obama says he wants to put an end to the idea of drilling for oil in areas that are too close to Utah's national parks and other sensitive lands. He could have saved his breath. Drilling no longer is a smart investment.

Gas is back down to less than $2 a gallon.

It's still falling. And just as fast, all the anger and suspicion seems to be dissipating into the air like gasoline vapors.

Last July, Rep. Rob Bishop told the Deseret News editorial board that expensive gasoline was focusing Congress the way Pearl Harbor once did. Liberals and conservatives were beginning to see offshore drilling as a patriotic duty.

Now we can yawn about all that as we plan the next family road trip in the SUV. It's as if Emperor Hirohito had quickly issued an apology and surrendered.

And that huge wind-generator project T. Boone Pickens was planning in the Texas desert — the one that was supposed to produce 4,000 megawatts and provide enough juice to power cars and wean us off oil? Forget about it. "Not economical," he told CNN last week. With oil and natural gas prices in a free fall, wind can't compete.

You could say the same for those state investigations Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. once launched to figure out why gas prices in Utah were so high. That seems about as useful now as going after oil speculators. After all, the speculators are now pushing prices down. Market forces are great when they work in your favor.

Meanwhile, you can be sure the nation's enemies and pseudo-enemies in places like Iran, Russia and Venezuela are not enjoying the ride. Low gas prices cut deeply into their riches and make it harder for dictators to prop themselves up politically.

It is, indeed, amazing to see how the world changes when gasoline prices fall.

But those changes aren't permanent. They don't solve long-term problems. And that's what is frightening.