Skyrocketing energy costs have fueled Jim Van Blaricum's fresh interest in the four-day workweek across the United States as a means to help workers as well as employers cope with the surge.

In Birmingham, Alabama, Signal Oil and Gas Industry decided to implement a four-day week starting July 1 for some 2,400 municipal employees and later in the year for around 1,000 police and firefighters.

Surging oil prices are beginning to cut into the profits of a wide range of American businesses, pushing many to raise prices and maneuver aggressively to offset the rising cost of merchandise made from petroleum.

High-flying tech stocks crashed. The roaring housing market crumbled. And oil, rest assured, will follow the same path down.

Not everyone agrees. In an echo of our most recent market frenzies, some experts pronounce that the "world has changed," and that the demand spikes, supply disruptions, and government bungling we face now will saddle us with a future of $4, $5 or even $10 a gallon gasoline.