72)This page is a permanent archive of the comment below and its replies.
To view this comment in the context of the full discussion for the story, use this link.
Not a member? Sign-up today!
About Propeller | Frequently Asked Questions | Help
© 2003-2008 Propeller. All Rights Reserved. Terms of Use | Privacy Policy
Saudi Arabia might crack down on extremist within their nation, at least those not in the royal family, but its no secret that there are plenty of sympathizers within the royal family and Saudi oil money promotes Islamic extremism around the world in Madras schools as well as direct contributions through Islamic charities. This is their Faustian bargain with the extremist groups like the Muslim brother hood. Its a form of payola so they can be left alone to enjoy their high living relative in peace. They even dwarf Iran in supporting terrorism around the world and within in Iraq. The Saudis don't like to see the ascendancy of Shia Islam and the Iranians which is what the "liberation" of Iraq has done. But you don't have to take my word for it. There is plenty of info about the Saudi connection to terrorism on the internet and print media. But we depend upon their oil so we would never have the balls to stand up to them and every effort is made to spare them embarrasment.
Had we as a nation headed the warning issued to us by the oil crisis in the 70's and reduced our dependence on oil in general we would not be in this situation.
You can drill all you want, there isn't enough oil in this country to satisfy our need.
That is nonsense. America's thirst for oil exceeds our reserves period. No amount of drilling will ween us off of foreign oil. Conservation is and was the key. The Alaskan wildlife refuge reserves are estimated at 1% of our domestic needs. The cafe standards were not raised since 1985. I don't blame Republicans for this. Democrats and Republicans share equally in the blame by not being earnest brokers with the American people. Clinton did not raise cafe standards during his tenure as president either. But the American people themselves deserve a share of the blame because we tend to chose leaders who tell us what we want to hear and not what we need to hear. Our per capita consumption of resources makes us the biggest pigs on the planet. At the root of the problem is a culture which is not sustainable. If the 7 billion inhabitants of this world consumed on the same scale as we do, we'd strip this planet bare in a week. Conservation doesn't sell. Its not sexy but it is important.
not 50% of our current consumption which is how much we import. Besides, those reserves must be in international waters or within our own territory or we can't very well call them ours, can we? The key to the future is conservation and developing alternative resources. For that, we need long term planning and government involvement. Energy security should be a bipartisan mandate. The current war in the gulf and all the saber rattling about Iran are directly related to our dependence on Mid East oil. As long as we are dependent on their oil, we will be embroiled in their archaic struggles which we little understand and will never be able to control. When your struggles revolve around he irrational imperatives of religion, there is no fix to that. The peoples of the Mid East will not set aside their beliefs or their feuds for democracy and consumer culture. This is prefaced on the myth that our way of life is perfect and has universal appeal.
Hit the nail right on the head.