This is the latest from Richard Posner, the distinguished federal appeals judge and noted (often described as conservative) economic thinker:

Why We Should Be Rooting for $200 per Barrel of Oil

Were the world price of oil to rise to a level close to $200, both demand and (with a lag) supply would respond. Oil trapped in sand and shale--a potentially very large supply--would become economical. In the longer run, very high oil prices will further stimulate the development of alternative fuels.

And:

I would like to see the price of oil rise to $200, despite the worldwide recession that would probably result, provided that it rises as a result of heavy taxes on oil or (better) carbon emissions. The taxes would jump start the development of clean fuels, and the financial impact on consumers could be buffered by returning a portion of the tax revenues in the form of income tax credits. That would not reduce the effect of the taxes on the demand for oil or the incentives to develop alternative fuels, because the marginal cost (the production and distribution cost plus the tax) of oil to consumers would not be affected.

Higher oil prices are necessary to check global warming, reduce traffic congestion, and reduce dependence on foreign oil, so much of which is produced by countries that are either unstable or hostile to the United States. Heavy taxes on oil would reduce not only the amount of oil we import but also the revenue per barrel of the oil exporting nations, so there would be a double negative effect on those countries' oil revenues: they would sell less oil and earn less per unit sold.