CC image from StuffEyeSee

So says the Department of Defense:

The US military has warned that surplus oil production capacity could disappear within two years and there could be serious shortages by 2015 with a significant economic and political impact.

The energy crisis outlined in a Joint Operating Environment report from the US Joint Forces Command, comes as the price of petrol in Britain reaches record levels and the cost of crude is predicted to soon top $100 a barrel.

The implications for urban planning and transportation are huge.  Part of the big push for a VMT tax instead of merely raising the gas tax stems from the macro-level supply and demand issues.  Seeing crude oil prices spike would almost certainly lead to a drop in consumer demand for gasoline, thus lowering gas tax revenues.   Add in mandated improvements in fuel efficiency for cars and light trucks, and the long-term stability of the gas tax as a funding source doesn’t seem that robust.

Certainly, there are many other potential implications, but this long-term funding issue ought to be front and center in the current debate over how to fund transportation.