Iran tries to go nuclear while shouting out threats at our allies. Venezuela goes further and further away from democracy as Chavez stands up against the free world. Russia and Putin. These three wield their power through their oil and the world's dependence on it. Indeed, they have benefited the most from our global energy crisis. Indeed, they have committed themselves to something other than the ideals of freedom and justice. If we are going to stand up to them, than we must learn to fight oil with oil. To get more oil to fight them with, we need to stop using it.
Jack Kelly gives some figures which make clear just why we should fight the petro-powers with petro. To quote;
The schadenfreude (pleasure at the misfortune of others) our enemies in Russia, Iran and Venezuela experienced when our stock market melted down has been replaced with fear as the price of oil has sunk with it. Totalitarian regimes tend to mismanage their economies. Iran and Venezuela have nothing going for them except for the sale of oil, and they need high prices for it to keep their troubled economies afloat.
According to Mohsin Khan, Director of Middle East and Central Asia at the International Monetary Fund, Iran's "break even price is $90 a barrel." Deutsche Bank estimated Venezuela needs an oil price of $95 a barrel to keep its budget in balance. Oil prices fell to near $60 a barrel Monday, with further declines considered likely. If they stay at this level for some months, the potential for civil unrest in Iran and Venezuela is high.
Today, the price for oil is just under $50 a barrel. If this trend holds, than Iran and Venezuela will have far less money to spend on arms and far less influence. Who do you think funds Hezbollah? Indeed, Iran's economy was already barely holding on. Their unemployment and inflation rate is around 30%. Then there is Russia, who also benefits greatly from high energy prices, as is known all too well throughout Europe. They've been hit as well. We may have been too, but while our stock market has lost around 40%, Russia has lost over 70%, even more than China(60%).
Indeed, if we want to put the pressure on tyrants, we must keep the price of oil low. To do that, we must flood the world economy with as much oil as possible. That means cutting our own use to as much of a minimum as possible. If we take the steps to energy independence, than the price of oil will probably remain lower as forecasts predict a lower demand for it, and speculation adjusts. We could even start to release some of our Strategic Reserves to keep the price artificially-low while we make the transition. Our oil companies would still have plenty of customers, and would become our most effective weapon against the tyranny of petro-powers. That is how we fight oil with oil.
Tax cuts should be offered to all property owners who install solar panels. Wind power should be key. Detroit should focus on energy efficient hybrids, sure, but even more on plug-ins that people will want to buy. Heavier vehicles that can't be pushed by a battery, such as 18-wheelers and armored vehicles, could be powered by compressed natural gas. There is plenty of natural gas, and plenty of more room to use it if we capitalize on as much solar and wind as possible. Natural gas is also much cleaner than either oil or ethanol. Finally, President-Elect Obama ought to have the experts compile a list of the things individuals can do to help cut our addiction to oil and fossil fuels. Personal responsibility is not an idea owned by the Republican Party, as we all now know all too well.
There are some advocates for ethanol. I'm not one of them. I do not believe there is yet such a thing as "clean burning bio-fuels", as these bio-fuels give off a lot of methane. Ethanol is also not very efficient, as it takes a lot of working-hours to grow the crops, and a lot of energy to turn corn into ethanol. That energy usually comes from coal-fired plants. Additionally, our use of bio-fuels reduces the amount of food aid that we can provide to the world.
If we aren't using a drop of oil, than all of the oil that our companies produce would be directly competing with the petro-powers of the world. Demand for oil will be rising as populations increase. We should lead the way to a cleaner energy-economy, and export it throughout the Western world. It's time to end the tyranny of oil. It's not just about the environment, it's about national security.