Just when you didn't think it was happening, or when complacency took full possession of our comfort zones - it started to happen again. This time, apparently, it means business.



What is this new version of an old problem? Why it's our old friend, the energy crisis.

This past week, gasoline prices jumped back above $3 a gallon at the pump. This was on Monday, even as concerns about the economy and increases in crude oil supplies sent oil prices lower.

It becomes more important than ever to find ways of doing business and meeting with friends and relatives. The days of just jumping intp the car and driving across town or out to the far away city are coming to an end. We just can't do it any more.

Retail gas prices have been slow to catch up with soaring crude prices, which have gained nearly 39 percent since late August. They are now at a trading high of $96.24 on Thursday. Gas prices only started rising steadily in mid-October. They haven't stopped since.

The national average price of a gallon of gasoline rose 1.5 cents overnight to $3.004, It has jumped almost 25 cents in three weeks, according to the AAA and the Oil Price Information Service. The sharp jump in gas prices could continue if oil keeps surging to new heights.

The price of diesel fuel sold to truckers, railroads, and bus companies are tied to the price of crude oil. There is no reason to believe the oil refineries will increase their yields of these products in the face of steady or rising demand for gasoline. With the onset of winter, the demand for gasoline might slow down, but the demand for home heating oil will pick up.

Some industry experts predict that if oil prices don't retreat, gasoline prices could reach $3.50 or $4 a gallon by next summer. This would make it almost mandatory that business and the public consumer adopt cost-cutting measures before they cycle once again and pass their rising costs to their customers.

If companies were to adopt a new culture regarding meetings, training sessions, sales promotion, and interactive work sessions, they could eliminate 50 percent or more of all the travel required to bring people together into a conference room. Webconferencing is the answer to this now critical need to lower the costs of doing business. Webconferencing technology is here now. Not only is this technology getting better, but it is getting cheaper to buy or lease secure webconference software per month.

Conducting meetings and training sessions via webconference is totally secure. The VOIP communications networks that drive webconferencing systems have not as yet been successfully hacked. The moderator of a web conference maintains complete control of the attendees. He or she can ban a participant from a meeting if that person becomes unruly or counterproductive.

Many people will still prefer the old "face to face" way of conducting meetings and training sessions. Resistance to change is understandable. However, with the current surge in energy costs now upon us, the old "face to face" meetings may soon be a thing of the past. Only time will tell.