NavList:

<<When the time comes to pass that gasoline and diesel fuel supplies are rationed or priced out of reach, >>

 Out of reach is a relative thing. In the EU, fuels have been "in reach" while being twice the US market price. This should tell us that in the US, $6/gallon is feasible. And that in the EU, by a simple government tax base shift, fuel prices can drip in half to US levels. Again, very feasible.

 

 

<< I expect to see the return of steam powered vessels and sail powered fishing vessels>>

Why? The cost of sending air cargo, by the container, from JFK to Beijing, is about $2/kilo. I'd like quotes on sea cargo but I sispect in both cases the cost of fuel, even doubling, will still be nothing compared to the market value of "speed" and the overall costs. Remember that sailing vessels are unreliable, and fishing fleets need reliability. And steam still needs fuel, eventually that means competing for coal or petroleum liquids, unless you use nuclear steam with its own problems. Nuclear is cheap and convenient...until you price in the aftercare for 50,000 years of waste management, or terrorist opportunities with the wastes before then.

 

.   <<Biodiesel although an option will also have to be rationed due to limited supplies and likely only available for rescue craft. >> Not at all. Biodiesel is great waste management but it has practical limits as a commercial system. Bring the other alternatives online commercially--as they are being brought online already--and biodiesel becomes a kludge for the home user, who can "invest" their labor and scrounged materials for free. If you have to get those plant oils commercially, competing against $5-11 per gallon for the food oils, it loses some appeal.

 

<<Canals will be refurbished and put back into service. >> Unlikely. Air transport requires less investment in real estate and capital equipment. Canals are expensive to maintain and occupy lots of land.

 

 <<...I think we can be certain that petroleum based products will be more expensive if they are even available. >>

 I'd totally disagree, except about "expensive". Yes, costs will rise to accomodate the $5/gallon prices. In 1970 gasoline was 28c/gallon and rent was $100/month for a furnished apartment. So now, gasoline has risen a bit more than tenfold and...so have rents. Gasoline has just kept up with inflation, more or less. Ignoring the whole question of whether the whole world has gone mad with relative prices, but as gasoline costs more, to some extent the market for petroleum products and gas hogs goes UP. In the US it is par of conspicious consumption. The same people who complain bitterly about how much it costs to care for their lawns (perhaps the original symbol of conspicuous consumption) will still buy four SUVs, two of them being "first cars" for their kids in high school. The rest of us will have to manage with scooters instead of cars.