the day the pumps run dry ...

[welshTerrier2]

look, this is either a really big deal to you or it isn't ... this post is a warning that has gone largely unheeded on DU ... my previous posts with this theme received about 3 responses ... but, even if you're not paying attention yet, you will be soon ... because, while this may not seem like a big deal, it's a really, really, really big deal ...

here are links to three previous threads i've had on this topic:
Let's Nationalize Big Oil: http://journals.democraticunderground.com/welshTerrier2/12
Are We a Nation of Carrots or Sticks: http://journals.democraticunderground.com/welshTerrier2/92
Every American Needs to Understand This: http://journals.democraticunderground.com/welshTerrier2/96

did you ever feel like a canary in the mine?

Here's the simplest statement: Big Oil has been operating in their own selfish interests and not in the national interest ... this wouldn't necessarily be a problem if these mega-corporations were being properly regulated ... when corporations "own" the government, the government serves the corporations and let's them write the national script ... in the US, the 'national script' has been to use the resources of the federal government, i.e. the taxpayers' resources, to help Big Oil procure more oil and greater profits ... most recently, this has included the 2002 coup in Venezuela (and ongoing efforts to topple the Chavez government) and it obviously includes the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq ... as the occupation of Iraq drags on, oil profits are at all time highs ... Big Oil's motto: "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" ... could that be current US policy in Iraq? count on it ...

if you read the threads at the last two links above, you'll see that other countries are building very strong cooperative ties to the oil-producing nations ... instead of trying to overthrow governments, countries like China are building strong economic and cultural ties ... more and more oil is being committed to China ... the big loser? i think you can figure it out ...

and now, the article below from tomorrow's Guardian, paints an even darker picture for the US ... we need to get control of our government, nationalize the oil companies and start acting like we're aware of the crisis we're in ... this might include, cover your ears libertarians, restrictions on auto use ... we can do it PROACTIVELY or we will be forced to do it REACTIVELY ... like every junkie's addiction, our habit is our Achilles heel ... it's time to stop all this nonsense about "Wars on Terrorism" and pretending we're tough on defense and all the rest of it ... what we are is a nation addicted to oil that is rapidly, very rapidly, running out of time ... we are in desperate need of serious national leadership on this issue ... it seems neither party wants to be the bearer of the bad news ... we have dues to pay, people ... and there ain't no one telling us the truth or changing the national dialog or the national direction ...

source: http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1885258,00.html?=rss

TITLE: Russian oil grab 'puts western supplies at risk'

A former government adviser has warned it is "only a matter of time" before BP or Shell faces a bid from a Russian state-owned group such as Gazprom WHICH COULD THREATEN WESTERN OIL SUPPLIES.

Professor Peter Odell, an energy economist, says ExxonMobil is also vulnerable to a Chinese takeover as the large UK and American stock-listed oil groups lose their influence in global markets.

"A Chinese bid for Exxon and/or Chevron and/or a Russian bid for Shell and/or BP, backed by funds provided by the wealthy member countries of Opec seem likely to be only a matter of time.

"With the 'majors' gone there will be concern in the main OECD countries for the future security of supplies," he said in an unpublished speech to Opec ministers in Vienna last month. <skip>

The Chinese - and the Indians - meanwhile have been using state-owned companies to expand abroad to secure supplies for their energy-hungry industries.

Professor Odell foresees a return to state-owned companies in the west too, along the lines of Norway's Statoil and Austria's OMV which have also been expanding fast. <skip>

He believes western oil companies have endangered their own survival by skimping on investment and using their cash for share buybacks and "extortionate" executive remuneration packages.

[lonestarnot]

1. We need to take them over. Short and sweet.

[JeffR]

2. Kick!

:kick:

[lonestarnot]

3. I went to check a mail box and just saw this

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061001/ap_on_bi_ge/china_economic_growth

[welshTerrier2]

4. the myth of a US-centric world

most Americans seem to believe that the ever-dominant US will remain so for all time ... those who have grown-up in a post-WWII have known nothing else ...

what is most disturbing is that we fail to learn the lessons of history ... all sandcastles crumble ...

we should be taking severe measures today to chart a new course; most of our programs and policies seem to be predicated on the premise that the US will forever remain the dominant empire ... how blind we are ... the price we will soon pay for our own foolishness will be staggering ... it could have been avoided ... that's the real tragedy ...

[lonestarnot]

9. I think more and more people are questioning the stability of the

U.S. Keep it out there!

[Tesha]

5. I'm fatalistic about this.

1. Oil will be priced out of our (American) reach within our lives.

2. The majority of Americans will whine "Why did no one warn us?"

3. Civilization will change dramatically, perhaps ending.

It's inevitable at this point. The snowball has already
rolled far down the hill and picked up way too much speed.

Tesha

[welshTerrier2]

6. an excerpt from "The Sorrows of Empire"

i have the final two paragraphs of Chalmers Johnson's book, "The Sorrows of Empire", prominently displayed in my DU journal ... here they are:

There is plenty in the world to occupy our military radicals and empire enthusiasts for the time being. But there can be no doubt that the course on which we are launched will lead us into new versions of the Bay of Pigs and updated, speeded-up replays of Vietnam War scenarios. When such disasters occur, as they - or as-yet-unknown versions of them - certainly will, a world disgusted by the betrayal of the idealism associated with the United States will welcome them, just as most people did when the former USSR came apart. Like other empires of the past century, the United States has chosen to live not prudently, in peace and prosperity, but as a massive military power athwart an angry, resistant globe.

There is one development that could conceivably stop this process of overreaching: the people could retake control of the Congress, reform it along with the corrupted elections laws that have made it into a forum for special interests, turn it into a genuine assembly of democratic representatives, and cut off the supply of money to the Pentagon and the secret intelligence agencies. We have a strong civil society that could, in theory, overcome the entrenched interests of the armed forces and the military-industrial complex. At this late date, however, it is difficult to imagine how Congress, much like the Roman senate in the last days of the republic, could be brought back to life and cleansed of its endemic corruption. Failing such a reform, Nemesis, the goddess of retribution and vengeance, the punisher of pride and hubris, waits impatiently for her meeting with us."

this is all so tragic ... we are a small, immature people ... we are children scrapping back and forth unaware of the perils that surround us ... the rest of the world has patiently disassembled our advantages brick by brick ... the fallacy of free markets, narrowness of vision, arrogance of power and seemingly limitless greed will be our undoing ... those who see this script unfolding have rung the bells and turned on the warning lights only to be ignored ... and so, the final days tick by ...

[InvisibleTouch]

7. I totally agree with you.

We were warned, but most people aren't listening. They won't wake up until it's too late. Remember Cassandra?

Several times a year I do some long-distance cross-country driving, and each time I've looked at that stretch of highway, with my fellow long-distance travellers, and have thought, "You're looking at the last days of a dying era." I'm fully clear on this, there's no doubt in my mind.

What can we do? Perhaps nothing but prepare ourselves, our families, our own small communities, to survive what's coming.

[donsu]

8. yes - prepare to survive what's coming

nt

[corkhead]

11. add to it that the environment will be ruined as well

if you live on a coast, it might be a good time to buy a UV resistant, solar powered house boat.

[Gregorian]

10. In conjunction with that, here is what we also need.

We need to learn limits. I don't think most Americans know what that means. It is very threatening to almost everyone. It's very personal. And to even suggest it heaps criticism on one's head.

We need to change our lifestyles. (See above)

In a nutshell, we need to think less. Smaller.

We need to start thinking about producing, rather than consuming. Think 1900.

We need to become much more patient.

There is your recipe. I guarantee anything else will fall short, no matter what we do with oil ownership. The reason being, we are not the last generation. AND global warming.

[robertpaulsen]

12. Everyone needs to become aware of the reality of Peak Oil.

This is not just something that will affect the US, the US already reached its peak back in 1970. We're talking about the global peak of oil production, and every nation with the capability of securing a supply is scrambling for the scraps left over as we speak. Those are good links that you provide. Here are more links that paint the broader picture:

http://www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net/
http://www.energybulletin.net/
http://www.peakoil.com/gate.html?name=Forums
http://www.fromthewilderness.com/index.html
http://www.aspo-usa.com/
http://www.theoildrum.com/story/2005/11/10/233544/36
http://www.postcarbon.org/



Last, but certainly not least:


DU Peak Oil Group: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=266

[welshTerrier2]

13. a narrow focus on failed governance

thanks so much for the additional links ... i'll work my way through them ...

it's interesting to note that in the article linked to at the end of the OP (but not part of the excerpted text), the expert quoted dismissed concerns about Peak Oil ... the intent of this thread was not to address that broader issue ...

my much more narrow focus is on the turning over of our government to the greedy, corrupting influence of big oil ... the issue raised in the OP is bad governance, not just a rapidly dwindling oil supply ... big oil has co-opted our national policies to benefit a very select few at the expense of the national interest and the American people ... to be sure, in a period of Peak Oil, their greed, as with all of their policies, has failed to safeguard the national interest ... where are the electric cars? where are the alternative fuels? why do we fight war after war after war? why do we never get real campaign finance reform?

it is this focus, in my view, that must be brought to the immediate attention of the American people ... until We The People control the reigns of power and until our electoral processes lead to the election of people who will represent our best interests rather than be dependent on mega-corporations who funded their campaigns, change is simply not possible ...

so, i guess i see two distinctly different, yet entirely symbiotic, issues here ... one is that, as you quite correctly point out, this is not just a US problem and all modern civilizations are under the gun to develop a response to the soon-to-be desperation to acquire oil ... but the other, within our own country, especially given a Peak Oil crisis, is that We The People must regain control and set the nation on a sustainable energy path ...

again, thanks for all the links ... i'll check them out ...