The price of oil has shot up in recent weeks, a matter which could seriously impact the real estate marketplace.

Huh? What's the tie between energy costs and real estate?

One connection is that if we are truly at the end of a brief recession, then the economy should begin to expand and as it grows it will require more energy. But if the cost of energy rises, the expansion itself can be slowed or halted because rising fuel prices are a sort of economic tax.

So while real estate has done unusually well during the past year, an expanding economy would mean more jobs, less unemployment, and higher pay for lots of people, people who might like to buy a first home or move up. Dampen the recovery and home sales are likely to slow.

A second connection is that the cost of fuel is a broad-based expense reflected in the price of just about everything. Raise oil prices and a variety of costs are likely to increase, meaning higher inflation may be in the works. If so, interest rates could go up, something which is never good for real estate.

Oddly enough, this might be the moment say "thank you" for global warming.

For all the mooing and carping about global warming, the dull reality is that global warming—if it exists—may bring several benefits.

One of those advantages is a longer growing season, which means lower food costs and more abundant crops. If you like to eat on a regular basis, this is a matter not to ignore.

Another benefit is shorter winters and less energy usage. One of the reasons for lower oil prices in recent years has been the joy of mild winters.

Alas, the evidence regarding widespread warming is mixed. New research suggests that it may be less than global and that worries about melting ice caps may be over-stated.

"The Earth may be in the midst of a planet-wide warming cycle," says The Washington Post, "but in a startling departure from global trends, scientists have found that temperatures on the Antarctic continent have fallen steadily for more than two decades." (See: "In Antarctica, No Warming Trend," Jan. 14, 2002>

So what do we do about rising fuel prices?

The usual options are always out there: In the short run, heat and air condition less, turn off unneeded lights and appliances, and combine trips by car to save fuel. In the long term, buy more fuel-efficient vehicles, build additional nuclear power plants, erect more dams, and invest more dollars in alternative energy sources such as solar power and wind.

Interestingly enough, short-term conservation measures can make a huge difference. Remember the vaunted California energy shortage last year? As consumers, business, and government dialed back energy use, the crisis disappeared.

The recent rise in energy prices is largely a political matter—Iraq thinks it would be a good idea to reduce oil production as a way to obtain political aims in the Middle-East, world markets shutter at the thought, and prices increase. But whether the reason for higher energy prices is political or not, the end result is the same: Bad news for the U.S. economy and for other economies as well.

Jimmy Carter called the last oil embargo the "moral equivalent of war," and that's exactly what it is. Energy independence ought to be a major national goal, and while we use less oil from the Middle East than in the past we still consume enough to impact our political process and our economic destiny—and that's too much.