Energy costs change many things

1. Maybe mills will come back, or at least electricity from water power in rivers. Great Falls could be a great energy source, etc. See "In an Age of Fossil Fuel, Returning to the Water for Electricity," from the New York Times.

2. Asphalt, the most common road material, also contains petroleum. It's cost is going up as the price of oil rises. See "Cost of Asphalt Rises, Affecting Repaving," from the New York Times.

Alan Zale for The New York Times. New asphalt being applied on Westmoreland Avenue in White Plains.