So far, despite bank losses of some $400 billion, a crumbling housing market and oil prices at $130 a barrel, the economy has managed to avoid a deep recession -- at least according to the common definition, which is two quarters of negative gross domestic product growth.

"If the delta is planted with sugar, we will run out of grazing land for our cattle," local community leader Bile Bundit says. Others wave placards at the flustered officials sitting in a makeshift tent made from wooden poles and sack-cloth.

Wetlands contain 771 billion tons of greenhouse gases, one-fifth of all the carbon on Earth and about the same amount of carbon as is now in the atmosphere, the scientists said before an international conference linking wetlands and global warming.

The discovery was made near the southern port city of Assaluyeh, state broadcaster IRIB said, without giving further details.

The paper said Ford has looked at bringing over European models, including the mid-size Mondeo, in response to high fuel costs that have hit sales of larger, fuel-hungry trucks and sport utility vehicles.

Physical oil trader SemGroup LP told its lenders this week it may file for bankruptcy after margin calls on hedges designed to protect its 500,000 barrels per day business from a fall in oil prices gobbled up its cash reserves.

In particular, congressional Democrats who oppose President Bush's plan to expand offshore drilling point to 68 million acres of federal land and offshore sites now leased by oil companies that sit idle.

Ten of 22 analysts surveyed said prices would fall until Friday. Seven said oil would rise and five forecast little change. Last week 63 per cent of those surveyed said futures would increase.

"It's definitely the wrong way to go," said Brad Heavner, state director of Environment Maryland. "You can't drill with zero impact."

The world's petroleum consumption and production are just about balanced now, at around 86.5 million barrels per day (mbpd). Unlike in 1973-1982, when artificial supply constraints boosted prices, now the taps are mostly all wide open; but production levels are stagnant, despite record prices. The graph lines of consumption and production have relentlessly converged since the early 1990s, causing today's nasty prices. Unfortunately, monthly world production apparently peaked around June 2006 and has not, despite high prices, surpassed those levels since. Could it? Maybe, but as time elapses, Peak Oil theorists (who tell us that world production will peak due to geologic limits, then start to decline) increasingly appear to be on target.