If Yosemite rangers can sell bear canisters to a skeptical public, there's a chance they can work similar magic with fluorescent bulbs and hybrid cars.

Bear had put many of its eggs in one basket-mortgage-backed securities-and these were fast turning rotten, and impossible to sell, as house prices tumbled.

These producers may not want to bear the risk of what future spot prices will be, so they may contract in futures markets to sell their future outputs at market-determined prices.