Post by Dub on Apr 19, 2007 16:40:56 GMT -5
...there are a couple of things that nag at me now and then.
I have huge respect and admiration for members of the armed forces who remain dedicated to doing the very best job they can do merely because their country has asked them to do it. I had friends in Vietnam and I have a cousin in Iraq and I have wanted only safety and success for them all.
However, I think pResident Bush and his cronies are perhaps the worst disaster ever to overtake the US and perhaps the world.
But here's the thing. We know that Iraq had no WMDs and wasn't involved in 9/11 and wasn't exporting terrorism. We know that the Bushies trumped up the whole Iraq thing for two basic reasons, they'd dissed Dubya's daddy and they're sitting on our oil. And of course it's a lot easier for a President to get his way if there's a war on.
And of course it isn't really our oil at all.
But the thing that keeps nagging at me is that the US economy and lifestyle is totally dependent on oil... anyone's oil. Not only do we require massive amounts of oil for transportation and heat but a huge number of other products are made from oil. The chemical industry won't exist without petroleum and neither will the plastics industry. Virtually no plastic products will come from manufacturers without petroleum. Much of the fabric and garment industry is dependent on oil as raw material. Oil is the fundamental basis for pretty much everything. And of course we all know that no new oil is being created; when it's gone, it's gone.
So it would seem to be in the US national interest to have firm control over all the earth's oil supply. In fact this would seem to be an important goal for every nation state. It seems predictable that, at some point, all the nations of the earth will be warring over the remaining oil.
There is nothing on the horizon that can reasonably become a substitute for our petroleum addiction. Nothing at least that allows the modern world to maintain its lifestyle and standard of living. No matter how many plastic bottles we place on the curb, no matter how many electric cars we buy, no matter how many nuclear (or do you say nucular?) plants, how many wind farms, how much land we devote to biodiesel crops, we're basically screwed.
I know all y'all know this stuff already but the nagging question for me is...
Are the Bushies right? Are they visionaries? Do they understand that our way of life depends on oil and they realize they can't just tell us and the rest of the world that US policy is now based on oil control in order to ensure the continuation of the US lifestyle and the world economy?
Tell me it ain't so.
I have huge respect and admiration for members of the armed forces who remain dedicated to doing the very best job they can do merely because their country has asked them to do it. I had friends in Vietnam and I have a cousin in Iraq and I have wanted only safety and success for them all.
However, I think pResident Bush and his cronies are perhaps the worst disaster ever to overtake the US and perhaps the world.
But here's the thing. We know that Iraq had no WMDs and wasn't involved in 9/11 and wasn't exporting terrorism. We know that the Bushies trumped up the whole Iraq thing for two basic reasons, they'd dissed Dubya's daddy and they're sitting on our oil. And of course it's a lot easier for a President to get his way if there's a war on.
And of course it isn't really our oil at all.
But the thing that keeps nagging at me is that the US economy and lifestyle is totally dependent on oil... anyone's oil. Not only do we require massive amounts of oil for transportation and heat but a huge number of other products are made from oil. The chemical industry won't exist without petroleum and neither will the plastics industry. Virtually no plastic products will come from manufacturers without petroleum. Much of the fabric and garment industry is dependent on oil as raw material. Oil is the fundamental basis for pretty much everything. And of course we all know that no new oil is being created; when it's gone, it's gone.
So it would seem to be in the US national interest to have firm control over all the earth's oil supply. In fact this would seem to be an important goal for every nation state. It seems predictable that, at some point, all the nations of the earth will be warring over the remaining oil.
There is nothing on the horizon that can reasonably become a substitute for our petroleum addiction. Nothing at least that allows the modern world to maintain its lifestyle and standard of living. No matter how many plastic bottles we place on the curb, no matter how many electric cars we buy, no matter how many nuclear (or do you say nucular?) plants, how many wind farms, how much land we devote to biodiesel crops, we're basically screwed.
I know all y'all know this stuff already but the nagging question for me is...
Are the Bushies right? Are they visionaries? Do they understand that our way of life depends on oil and they realize they can't just tell us and the rest of the world that US policy is now based on oil control in order to ensure the continuation of the US lifestyle and the world economy?
Tell me it ain't so.
- Dub
