[Excerpt]  As summer turned to fall, sky-high pump prices in the face of a weakening economy led to lower demand and a drop in those prices. In other words, market forces do work, and they tend to counter big price moves in one direction or the other. The financial meltdown may have weakened faith in markets over the last few weeks, but the precipitous decline in oil and gasoline prices should help strengthen that faith.

Of course, markets can work only if they are allowed to. The biggest threat to the functioning of energy markets right now is costly cap-and-trade legislation in the name of fighting global warming. These measures would set a limit on the emissions of greenhouse gases, mainly carbon dioxide from the combustion of coal, oil, and natural gas. This cap-and-trade legislation, and the energy use restrictions that would result from it, would create an unprecedented level of interference by the federal government in the energy sector and the overall economy. Bottom line: Such legislation would lead to gasoline rationing and higher prices.