As the summer driving season gears up and vacations are planned, there's one big obstacle looming over every American's mind – rising gas prices. Gas at the pump is sitting at around $3.94 per gallon in the U.S. In response to these higher prices, I'm sure that many people are adjusting their vacation plans for the summer holiday – opting for a getaway closer to home, instead of a more expensive vacation abroad.

And it doesn't seem like there is any relief in sight, as energy prices are still hiking upward. The price of oil keeps hitting record highs, with the cost per barrel of crude currently lingering in the $130s.

The U.S. government has made some effort to lower gas prices at the pump, like the Energy Department ceasing oil deliveries to the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve until the end of this year. And President Bush visited Saudi Arabia recently to coax the Saudis to increase crude oil production – they agreed to boost production by 3%.

But all of these efforts don't seem to be enough to reverse the current direction of oil prices. This is largely because the worldwide demand for oil is rising every day. Here in the U.S., even if there are high prices at the pump, drivers aren't turning in their keys for bikes. And people will still likely take vacations – they just might be closer to home. So demand shows no signs of slowing anytime soon – a trend that is all but certain to push oil prices even higher.

Keep in mind, though, that although the U.S. is the number-one consumer of oil products, it's not just Americans who aren't adjusting their oil consumption and contributing to the oil crunch. In fact, number-two China is trailing closely behind, followed by a slew of other quickly-emerging countries like India, Russia, and countries in the Middle East and Latin America. As these countries develop, their rising oil demand is putting an even tighter pinch on...