CROPS

In a world where energy is most certain to come up in virtually any conversation, as well as any political speech, we all hang on sound-bites about crude oil. Every time the price of "black gold, Texas tea" rises a few dollars on the global market, we all get a new tax increase at the gasoline pump. At least it feels like a tax increase. So every day we all worry about what happens in lands far away where the stuff is pumped out of a hole in the ground and a nearly inconceivable amount of money flows back down the hole.

One year ago, the price of Texas sweet light (low sulfur) crude oil was ab...