It was reported yesterday that "Crude oil fell below $53 a barrel, after US demand for fuel plunged to its lowest in more than 19 months. The news that Russia had restarted pumping crude oil to Europe also pulled prices down further. In US crude oil was 75 cents lower at $53.27 a barrel, after dipping under $53 for the first time since June 2005. In London, Brent crude dropped 46 cents at $53.23 a barrel."

US demand is down because of unseasonably warm temperatures across the country, perhaps due to global warming. Here we have a fascinating phenomenon: Russia needs oil prices high, but global warming, to which polluting Russia is a major contributor, is driving them down. The US is an even bigger contributor to global warming, and apparently doing so is helping it to stave off the advances of Russian energy imperialism. What's more, Russia can't restrict its output in order to try to artificially increase prices, because it's too dependent on its income stream from oil, especially if the price is dropping.

If we couple the effects of (a) global warming with (b) a concerted fossil fuel conservation effort and (c) a dedicated search for alternative sources, Russia's only vestigial basis for international influence will simply disappear (as it will ultimately do in any case when it simply runs out).