Sunday, March 13, 2005

Sunday Evening Update: Peak Oil

This week's update comes courtesy of Newsfare. I wanted to write something on peak oil myself this week, but found that the subject had been adequately covered at Ralph's site. Please read the teaser and check out his site:

From the Wilderness: Oil Crash Coming
Michael Ruppert has been preaching the gospel of Peak Oil and its consequences for several years.

Now he says the time for predicting that “the fire is coming” is over, because we are already in the fire.

It’s clear that Ruppert loves a blockbuster story, one which can shock readers, almost take their breath away.

But even disregarding the drama, there is much of value and interest that Ruppert has to say in this piece.

Every country in the world is betting everything it has on this one hand knowing that after 2007 or 2008 the game ends. The map of the future after that is unknowable and, to large extent, irrelevant. That’s why Rumsfeld has won the battle to control American intelligence operations and why the new National Intelligence Director John Negroponte is getting the job.

What Ruppert means, I think, is that after the world clearly understands that oil production is on a downhill slope, there will be little restraining countries from draconian economic or military action to secure a portion of those oil supplies for themselves. If power over the oil-producing countries becomes the most valuable currency in the world, and everyone knows it, there will be a rush to get that power, with no thought to decorum or the norms of civilization.

Since that the United States dropped most of its restraints after 9/11 in favor of securing a toehold in the Middle East, its stance is already quite clear. The U.S. leadership believes it is and should remain the steward of the oil lands and of all the wealth and power inherent in their underground reserves.

More at Newsfare.

Posted by crimnos @ 3:04 PM