The average price of a gallon of gas in the U.S. is now just shy of $4. Throughout Europe, drivers are paying upwards of $8 to $10 a gallon. With the rising price of crude oil futures, and the subsequent rise in prices for many other commodities, everyone should be feeling the squeeze.

Everyone is feeling it, that is, except for Big Oil. Major oil companies are posting windfall profits: Royal Dutch Shell and BP reported 25 percent and 63 percent net income increases, respectively, for the first three months of 2008. Exxon reported a record-setting $40.6 billion in net income for 2007. There is a rising fear that oil companies are simply passing the bill of higher crude prices onto consumers.

Congress appears to share these concerns. The Senate Judiciary Committee has called on executives of five major U.S. oil companies to provide some answers. “The people we represent are hurting, while your companies are profiting,” said Committee Chairman Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.). “We need to get some balance.”

These executives fired back, saying that their corporations are being targeted as scapegoats and that the effects of supply and demand are contributing to the rising price of fuel. Moreover, they reasoned that the high cost of development in the oil industry requires they make high profit margins today to prepare for expensive investments tomorrow. The oil execs also placed some of the blame back on Congress by arguing that bans on drilling in regions like the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska are curtailing supply potential.

So where do we go from here — especially when publications like The Economist hint at the potential of $200-a-barrel oil.

Business Week suggests that Americans, and the world in general, will adapt. People will alter their habits to drive less. That's already happening, according to the New York Times, which reports that Americans are already taking fewer road trips and seeking out public transportation more than ever before.