Falling oil prices present mixed blessing for consumers

The falling price of oil is prompting sighs of relief in many quarters. Cheaper gasoline and heating oil will make it easier for hard-pressed consumers to make ends meet. And the more than $30 a barrel that oil has dropped in recent weeks has been like a stimulus package for a battered economy.

But oil's abrupt decline is also a cause for concern. It could give companies and governments pause before making the investments in new energy sources, mass transit and efficient technologies needed to lessen the USA's dependence on foreign oil. It might also prompt some consumers to return to their old wasteful habits.

For two decades, Congress and a succession of presidents have opted against anything that could be called meaningful energy policy. Presidential contenders John McCain and Barack Obama have embraced worthwhile ideas, but their tendency to trade panders on gas-tax holidays and windfall ...