IRAN TAKES HOSTAGES, OIL PRICES UP, NEW ENERGY NEEDED

Unfortunate circumstance or sordid conspiracy? Either way, we gotta get off oil.

Iran action drives oil past $62
Mark Shenk, March 23, 2007 (Houston Chronicle)

WHO
Oil traders and consumers, Iranian and British navies.

WHAT
Crude oil jumped above $62 a barrel and gasoline prices surged to a seven-month high in New York after Iran seized 15 British naval personnel.

WHEN
Hostages were taken Friday, March 23, 2007.

WHERE
Prices jumped on the NewYork Merchantile Exchange. The British sailors were taken in the Persian Gulf along the disputed line between Iranian and Iraqi territory.

WHY
Increased tension in the Persian Gulf threatens the availability of crude supplies.

QUOTES
Tom Bentz, an oil broker with BNP Paribas in New York: "Worries that Iran would take oil off the market because of the nuclear dispute have been pushing prices higher for a while now. We are in a world that can't afford to have any supply taken off the market."