OK, indulge me another rant on the most important question of our era – cheap energy (not The Pimping of JonBenét, if you were to believe CNN).
I supported the invasion of Iraq. Not because of the Weapons of Mass Destruction (there weren’t none – so what, who cares?), not because of Saddam Hussein (there are many other Bad Guys out there who deserve to be taken out), but because, as North American Imperialists, we need to insure a supply of affordable oil.
The U.S. is in deep doo-doo in Iraq. Check out the blogs of insiders and front-line people. The U.S. underestimated the intractable lunacy of the Shiite/Sunni squabble. These people are not ready for democracy. Iraqis are focused on avenging past wrongs, and do not have the tolerance for diversity necessary to run a democracy. Squads of fanatics roam the streets of Baghdad at night perpetrating atrocities on civilians. Iraq is also a rallying point for Muslim insurgents, from all countries, who sense an opportunity to strike the West a lethal blow by crippling a major oil supply.
An American general is on record saying that their supply line is thin and vulnerable, snaking through dangerous territory (see http://billmon.org/archives/002553.html). If American troops become surrounded and threatened in Iraq, it is possible the U.S. would drop an atomic bomb in desperation. This would trigger a major debacle. All muslim nations would rise against the West. Other Western nations, whose survival depends on Middle East oil, might not necessarily support the U.S., preferring to curry favour with the Arab and Persian nations. The U.S. cannot withdraw from Iraq. Other nations (China, Iran) would immediately step in, and control the World’s second largets oil deposits.
The U.S. is doing nobody a favour by defining this as a conflict with enemies who “hate our freedom”. What? We’re stealing Arab oil at low prices, and they’re supposed to like it? Who can blame them for doing desperate things when the corrupt leaders of oil nations are giving away their birthright? (See the Movie Syriana for an excellent dramatization).
How did we get into such a mess? Simple – we need oil, cheap oil, and lots of it. At any cost. We are approaching Peak Oil, where the rate of production declines, and the rate of consumption continues to rise. I urge you to visit “Life after the Oil Crash” (www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net), where every Pollyanna technology is systematically refuted.
Wind, solar energy? The capital costs vastly exceed the energy produced. There isn’t enough wind or coastline to supply more than a fraction of our needs.
Hydrogen? It takes more energy to produce the fuel than it contains. Ethanol? Ditto, plus it creates CO2.
Atomic? There is not enough uranium left. We haven’t figured out how to dispose of the waste economically.
Natural Gas? That’s just another form of petroleum.
Coal? Maybe, if you don’t mind the huge Greenhouse Effect.
Hydro? Only available in a few places.
There is simply nothing like oil. And we are running out of it. Even if we wanted to be environmentally responsible and stopped using oil, China and India would snap up available supplies, and splurge like we did in the 1950’s. They would benefit from a competitive advantage that would render the U.S. a second-rate power. Face it, we are screwed. Nothing will convince the North American consumer to be frugal, until rising ocean levels turn Manhattan into another New Orleans. No President could ever get elected on a platform of reverting to a 19th century lifestyle.
I lived on a homestead in 1988–1997. I burned wood cut on my 85 acres. I had a well, septic tank, and lots of garden. I had to move because it was not fair to raise my daughter like Ellie May Clampett. I’m kind of sorry I sold the land.