It is obviously going to take something monumental like this to force us Americans to reconsider our ways. You can be proud of your "right" to drive a hummer all you want, but when gas hits $6-$8 per gallon, hopefully you will think twice.
I have a lot of friends who are constantly fretting about "peak oil", and although I am genuinely concerned about the situation, I truly believe that greed and capitolism got us into this mess, and it will most likely get us out.
Skyrocketing gas prices are just the beginning, but they are most definitely a step in the (obvious, natural) right direction. Especially since they are going up now for reasons other than true world shortage, it is like a little taster for us and hopefully will spur even more people into action (consumers buying hybrids, companies pushing energy-efficient products to the market more quickly as the demand grows overnight, etc) and make us question our ways a bit.
-Phil