Last Summer the religious prayed for relief [1] at the pump, lawmakers called for a 55 mph national speed limit [2] to conserve fuel, and cash-strapped drivers chanted, "Drill, baby. Drill!" [3] But today, oil goes for $40 a barrel, one-third of what it cost in July. Recently, Salon took an in-depth look [4] into the negative consequences of falling oil prices.

Low gas prices mean economic hardship and instability in oil-producing countries — like Nigeria, Russia, Iran, Kuwait, Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, and Mexico — who use oil revenue to fund education, health care, or to create jobs. In addition, without the pain at the pump, we give less priority to conservation, public transportation, and developing alternative energy sources. Continued dependence on increasingly unstable oil countries could be the high price of low gas prices!

Source [5]