Gasoline at under $3 a gallon may seem like some sort of miracle to Americans. Yet in some locations—including the Mid-Ohio Valley—it already can be found at that price. Not for long, if OPEC has its way. Officials of the oil cartel have announced plans for an emergency meeting to “stabilize” petroleum prices. That’s code for stopping the downward slide. It needs to be remembered that the current price level of gasoline is unusual. In 2001, for example, oil was selling for around $25 a barrel. OPEC’s concern about “low” prices came as it had dropped from more than $100 a barrel to about $78. In other words, OPEC countries aren’t suffering. Even at $78 a barrel, they are raking in the cash. Meanwhile, many other countries are in the throes of an economic slowdown—brought on, in part, by high energy prices. The smart, not just compassionate, thing for OPEC to do would be to let oil prices remain at current levels until the economies of many nations have had time to recover.