Why higher commodity prices might not result in conservation.

In light of recent articles (here and here) about how Neo-cons are driving hybrid cars (mainly to weaken the Saudis, Iranians, and Syrians) and the how commodity prices surged to a 24-year high it started me thinking about will higher prices for X(i.e. oil, drinking water, metals, fish,...) result in conservation of X.

If logic or reason had much of anything to do with market forces (snicker) then you would see conservation of X. However because this economy leans so heavily on externalized costs that higher commodity prices will more likely result in attempts to cut other costs (health care, wages, worker safety,...) or efforts to find some other way to externalize the costs (like making up reasons to invade Iraq to control the oil and ground water).

Basically the way that the US economic systems appear to work is to avoid pain (to the system, the workers don't count) which is very different from resolving the problems that cause the pain.