Silent Spring For Aviation. My recent flight down to Texas offered some perspective on the future of aviation. And that future is bleak.

With the gas prices nearing $4 a gallon in many parts of the US, one of the alternatives people are starting to talk about is solar-powered cars.

Google says the term “solar powered car” is one of the hottest search trends on the internet, as Americans seek alternatives to high fuel costs.

According to a recent Lehman Brothers report, the solar-powered-car revolution may not be coming anytime soon. The Wall Street bank in predicting crude oil prices at $83 a barrel in 2009 and as low as $70 in 2010.

Mirroring the stagflation of the early 1980s, consumer sentiment hit its lowest level since that time period this month as short-term inflation continues to ramp up.

This is one Bank Holiday that retailers won’t be looking forward to. Rising mortgage bills, fuel costs, and food bills are really starting to bite out there on the High Street.

While everyone has been focusing on the credit crunch, the real economy is taking a kicking. It’s hard to see how anyone ever believed that such a dramatic downturn in the financial markets could fail to have an impact on the high street, but plenty did.