Yes, gas prices are below $2. Heck, in the last few weeks some people have filled up for less than $1.50 a gallon.
But that doesn't mean things can't change overnight.
Just look at Europe - parts of which are dependent on natural gas from Russia. The Ukraine and Russia disagree about pricing and the Ukraine gets cut off. Then for a while all of Europe gets cut off from 20 percent of its natural gas sources, creating shortages from France to Turkey. Businesses shut down, economies are hurt and politicians point fingers.
No, this isn't exactly like the gasoline shortages in the U.S. caused by the oil embargo of the 1970s, but it does demonstrate what can happen when one become so dependent on others for energy.
In the case of natural gas and Europe, Russia or the Ukraine (since Russia's pipelines go through Ukraine) could simply cut off Europe at will. Or a group of terrorists could destroy the pipeline. That's not much different than if Saudi Arabia or another important oil exporter decides to cut off the United States. Would we look back at $4 gas as cheap?
That's one of the reasons we have the Renewable Fuels Standard...to start us down a path to a more diversified fuel supply. Corn ethanol, cellolosic ethanol, biodiesel and more. It's all good.
It doesn't necessarily have to be a problem created by humans to disrupt our gasoline supplies. Just look back to the hurricane Gustaf last year and Katrina and Rita in 2005. A large portion of our domestic oil production and refining capacity is in the Gulf of Mexico and is vulnerable to large storms. We not only need greater diversity in the fuels we rely on both also in the geographical locations in which they are produced.
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