OPEC looks to rake in $1 trillion (!) in 2011

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (aka OPEC) is looking forward to a record-setting 2011. Due to oil prices that have hovered around the $110-per-barrel mark, OPEC is projected to rake in some $1 trillion in revenues this year.
While them OPEC nations and oil giants profit, some economists say that lofty per-barrel prices put the global economy at risk. Fatih Birol, chief economist of the International Energy Agency, says that the current price of oil could be a catalyst for a global economic crisis. Recently, Birol told Reuters that:

If you don't see any softening of the prices, there is a risk of derailing the economy, of a double-dip. We all know what happened in 2008. Are we going to see the same movie?

So, what's the solution? Unfortunately, there probably isn't one. That is, until we transition away from oil and towards alternative fuels on a massive scale. Until then, we'll likely keep hearing OPEC report's of record-setting profits while we watch the global economy teeter on the ragged edge of a crisis.

[Source: Treehugger]