I came across a rather interesting chart; I've attached an image, as well as a link to the original source.
The chart plots oil price versus annual production of oil. Notice how the curve has become nearly vertical, which is unusual for typical supply-demand relationships. In essence, even though the price has gone up a lot, the supply hasn't increased.
Some have offered the analogy of 12 people on an airplane that is about to crash. They have 11 parachutes. What is the value of a parachute?
Notice the curved lines on the chart. These represent the percent of global GDP represented by energy costs at various levels. So we've gone from one percent to five percent rather quickly.
My take: shifts in allocation of global GDP will increase economic distress and conflict everywhere. 2009-2010 should be interesting times.
LINK