In keeping with the alternate investment themes, I'd thought I'd throw out some ideas.

http://www.energyandcapital.com/arti...

Energy and Capital has a good article on the future of rail. It also spells out why international tourism is at risk from high oil prices. (Ecuador, take note). Tourism won't die altogether, but people will be taking fewer trips abroad, so that might be good for the domestic hotel and tourism industries in the years to come.

Rail transportation is the theme I want to talk about though. Long haul trucking companies are hurting badly from higher oil prices. Long haul only made sense when oil prices were low anyway. It's cheaper to ship by rail, especially using intermodal technology. Same applies for bulk commodities such as coal, sulphur, potash etc.

But the real value-added is in passenger transportation. Cost alone makes rail competitive with air on short hauls, but those distances are increasing as the cost of oil rises. Meanwhile, modern trains can travel faster, and terminals are typically located in downtown cores, shortening the time factor even more for tourists and business travellers.

The beauty of rail though, is that it doesn't depend on liquid fuel, which is where the real crisis will emerge as cars, trucks, buses and aircraft all compete for a dwindling supply. Trains can be run on electric power, first from large utilities, but later on from small modular reactors which are presently in development.

So there's a major new theme to investigate. Something to look into while the paint dries on Aurelian. The return of the railroads. Who would have thought?

ebear