I personally believe speculation by those interested only in price movement, and not about hedging or delivery is more responsible for our $4 gas than supply / demand.
I’d like to see leverage in the commodities market substantially reduced as it creates artificial market action and volatility. If one wants to speculate then you will need the ability to cover your contracts like a non-margin cash account.
Speculators who gamble with their own money may harm markets a little bit, but the damage they do to themselves will generally significantly exceed the damage they do to the markets. This tends to limit them involvement of speculators who would damage the market (both because most speculators will try to avoid losing money personally, and because those who don't will soon find themselves with insufficient money to stay in the market place). On the other hand, if speculators can expect to be able to foist their losses on others (courtesy of bail-outs or whatever) then it may be possible for them to expect to profit by actions that destabilize the market. Regulatory policies which would make such expectations rational will severely destabilize markets.