Oil prices and global shift in wealth

[shesulsa]

High oil prices are fueling one of the biggest transfers of wealth in history. Oil consumers are paying $4 billion to $5 billion more for crude oil every day than they did just five years ago, pumping more than $2 trillion into the coffers of oil companies and oil-producing nations this year alone.

The consequences are evident in minds and mortar: anger at Chinese motor-fuel pumps and inflated confidence in the Kremlin; new weapons in Chad and new petrochemical plants in Saudi Arabia; no-driving campaigns in South Korea and bigger sales for Toyota hybrid cars; a fiscal burden in Senegal and a bonanza in Brazil. In Burma, recent demonstrations were triggered by a government decision to raise fuel prices.


In the United States, the rising bill for imported petroleum lowers already anemic consumer savings rates, adds to inflation, worsens the trade deficit, undermines the dollar and makes it more difficult for the Federal Reserve to balance its competing goals of fighting inflation and sustaining growth.

FULL ARTICLE.

Thoughts?

 

[exile]

My own view on all this is that our dependence on foreign fuel sources contributes to maintaining some of the most regressive, reactionary national regimes of modern times. The influx of oil-based revenue into the Russian economy has givne Putin a specious legitimacy which he has been systematically applying to the deconstruction of what political gains the open democracy movement in Russia was able to make in the aftermath of the Soviet empire's breakup. The old ex-KGB pro, instinctively drawn to bureaucratic centralization and the use of fear, if not quite outright terror, in maintaining social control, has been greatly assisted by the one-note-charlie petroleum profits of the Russian economy. And in the Middle East, we're seeing regimes, like the Suadi royal line, straight out of the bloody middle ages (except more retrograde than anything Saladin could have predicted on his most pessimistic day), which have been able to avoid facing the music on their own extreme (brutal? savage?) puritanical version of Sharia, and suppression of dissent and political pluralism, because of the vast oil wealth that allows them tremendous leverage in the world economy.

We need to get off our oil addiction in any number of ways: serious development of new technologies that minimize our dependence on external sources, new modes of transit that move more people for the same amount of feul, and major, far-reaching conservation efforts to reduce the degree to which we're vulnerable to the current reality of the oil marketplace. We're gonna have to do it somewhere up the line anyway: industry insiders are pretty certain that peak oil will be upon us in less than a century, maybe less than half a century, so the piper has to be paid sooner or later, and if we give ourselves enough of a headstart now, we'll be ready when it finally drops on us whether we like it or not. Planning for the future is not something we as a species are particularly good at; we mostly seem to rely on improvisation and luck. But the current political realities give us a very good incentive to get moving now to minimize fossil fuel dependency.

 

[Senjojutsu]

…an amazing bias, in a current events story of the world-wide production of oil and its global economic impacts - other than the quip “a boost to oil-rich Alaska” - there is nothing about the unresolved political issues around increasing U.S. DOMESTIC oil production. Of course not – but because why folks??

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

Well this the kind've news we have been observing for awhile. Russia getting stronger and wanting to reform the old Soviet Bloc and Iran waving the sabre at us. We definately need to curb our dependency on foreign oil. It is interesting to note though that China is suffering from oil shortages.

 

[Sukerkin]

Would you elaborate a little on that Senjo? Brevity is sometimes a wonderful thing in making a point but in this case I'm not quite sure what you're trying to say.

Also, Exile, as sensible a response as anyone could ask for :tup:. Research into alternate energy forms is going on but at present is largely going down roads (no pun intended) that preserve the current fuel market model rather than replace it.

 

[Steel Tiger]

We're gonna have to do it somewhere up the line anyway: industry insiders are pretty certain that peak oil will be upon us in less than a century, maybe less than half a century, so the piper has to be paid sooner or later, and if we give ourselves enough of a headstart now, we'll be ready when it finally drops on us whether we like it or not. Planning for the future is not something we as a species are particularly good at; we mostly seem to rely on improvisation and luck. But the current political realities give us a very good incentive to get moving now to minimize fossil fuel dependency.

The problem is twofold, I think. First there is the essential problem that we struggle to see beyond our own lifetimes. In this instance we should be planning for 200 years in the future, but no one seems capable, or willing, to think more than 50 years ahaed. The second problem is the natural conservatism that seems to come with leadership. Even when things are an obvious steaming pile leaders are reluctant to make change. So, as usual, nothing will be done until it is almost or already too late.

With our current way of thinking we will never get ahead of the game and as a result we simple dig ourselves deeper into the petro-chemical hole. Australia, the United States, China, and Europe are so obsessed with the internal combustion engine powered vehicle that we have blinded ourselves to the realities of this near obsolete mode of transport.

As Sukerkin pointed out, any development is just along the same old lines because of the conservatism that keeps telling politicians changes can lose you office. It'll take a strong personality to overcome that kind of resistance to change.

 

[Phoenix44]

Research into alternate energy forms is going on but at present is largely going down roads...that preserve the current fuel market model rather than replace it.

Yeah this is bothering me, too. Instead of investing heavily in solar and wind power, we're hearing about hydrogen fuel cells, ethanol, and OHMYGOD "clean coal." This type of fuel still requires us to pay some corporate entity to fill up.

I have a solar roof. I pay nobody for electricity, and I'm waiting for the electric car to come back so I can pay nobody to run my car, too. So it's pretty obvious why our current government with its corporate connections isn't interested, and is even trying to make it seem like solar and wind technologies aren't feasible. Meanwhile, we produce the most raw material for PV cells in the world, but we're sending most of the cells to Japan and Germany.

I consider our oil dependency the greatest threat to our economy and our national security. And--pay attention--with more corn being produced for fuel rather than food, it's about to disrupt our ability to feed our families, too. But it's not an "addiction," it's by design. We're being manipulated.

 

[ChadWarner]

Yeah this is bothering me, too. Instead of investing heavily in solar and wind power, we're hearing about hydrogen fuel cells, ethanol, and OHMYGOD "clean coal." This type of fuel still requires us to pay some corporate entity to fill up.

I have a solar roof. I pay nobody for electricity, and I'm waiting for the electric car to come back so I can pay nobody to run my car, too. So it's pretty obvious why our current government with its corporate connections isn't interested, and is even trying to make it seem like solar and wind technologies aren't feasible. Meanwhile, we produce the most raw material for PV cells in the world, but we're sending most of the cells to Japan and Germany.

I consider our oil dependency the greatest threat to our economy and our national security. And--pay attention--with more corn being produced for fuel rather than food, it's about to disrupt our ability to feed our families, too. But it's not an "addiction," it's by design. We're being manipulated.

Well here is something that will really bother you. A water fuel cell has been around since the 80's. When I was going to tradeschool one of our teachers informed us of the technology. Big busisness shut it down. The same as they did with electic cars. The internal combustion engine and the electric powered car came out at roughly the same time. Can you imagine what our world would be like if batteries were developed the same way the internal combustion engine was developed?

Recently I saw a program on Germany (go figure) where a farmer now uses part of his land for solar panels. There plans are very long term- my worst fear is our inept government will keep selling us out to line out of control multi death corporations pockets. That is all the fuel issue is about. 80 billion of our tax dollars could have done wonders for the US infrastructure. I mean we have large areas of windy desert. The technology is now there to store and subvert solar and wind energy, hmmm I wonder why this is not being done?

 

[Tom]

Yeah this is bothering me, too. Instead of investing heavily in solar and wind power, we're hearing about hydrogen fuel cells, ethanol, and OHMYGOD "clean coal." This type of fuel still requires us to pay some corporate entity to fill up.

I have a solar roof. I pay nobody for electricity, and I'm waiting for the electric car to come back so I can pay nobody to run my car, too. So it's pretty obvious why our current government with its corporate connections isn't interested, and is even trying to make it seem like solar and wind technologies aren't feasible. Meanwhile, we produce the most raw material for PV cells in the world, but we're sending most of the cells to Japan and Germany.

I consider our oil dependency the greatest threat to our economy and our national security. And--pay attention--with more corn being produced for fuel rather than food, it's about to disrupt our ability to feed our families, too. But it's not an "addiction," it's by design. We're being manipulated.

Like Ford making their equivalent of a SmartCar...runs on electricity....and then crunching them up becuz they don't wanna take responsibility http://www.thewe.cc/contents/more/archive2004/august/ford_destroying_environmental_cars.htm