[Peakoil] (no subject)

Antony Barry tony at tony-barry.emu.id.au
Sun Jan 21 14:58:57 EST 2007


From: http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=5398

The return of geo-politics
By Peter McMahon - posted Friday, 19 January 2007


.... Nobody seriously doubts that Peak Oil (the point where as much  
oil as has been produced is available in reserves) is at hand, that  
oil will become ever more scarce and that prices will rise steeply.  
The oil companies know it and governments know it.

Oil is not only the lifeblood of modern industrial societies, it is  
also the essential necessity of military force. The US military  
machine is the single largest user of oil in the world, and all  
armies, air forces and navies run on it.

We have recent experience of how disastrous global resource wars can  
be: World War II was largely about resources, and specifically oil -  
the Allies basically won by starving Germany and Japan of oil.

No one seriously doubts that oil security is behind the American move  
into the Gulf, the American bases in the ex-Soviet Stans, or the  
sudden interest by Washington in oil-rich regions of Africa. However,  
the US is in direct competition with booming China, rich Europe and  
Japan, newly assertive Russia, and a gaggle of other more or less  
developed nations, including fast-growing India.

This is not the “all boats are raised by the rising tide” situation  
of globalisation, but closer to old style naked imperial competition.

This already tricky situation is compounded by the growing  
realisation that global warming is indeed serious and imminent. There  
are currently no serious attempts to deal with the problem, and no  
signs that anything is about to happen. In fact, the rapid rise of  
China and India, and the determination of the rich world to maintain  
its privileged position suggest that the problem will not be resolved  
by some decisive collective action.

There is no sign that the developed nations will pay any price or  
that the developing nations will forgo economic development to in  
order to curtail the worst of global warming.

So all of a sudden it’s back to the all-against-all jungle of the  
late 19th century, a predicament that was eventually resolved by two  
world wars. And in those days there was not an environmental crisis  
looming.

...

phone : 02 6241 7659 | mailto:me at Tony-Barry.emu.id.au
mobile: 04 1242 0397 | mailto:tony.barry at alianet.alia.org.au
http://tony-barry.emu.id.au





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