OPEC Threatens Industrialized World

According to an article at FT.com Abdalla El-Badri, the secretary-general of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries says that the OPEC cartel is considering cutting investment in oil production as a result of attempts to bring bio-fuels online in the U.S. and other oil consuming countries.

How ironic that middle eastern countries who have already transferred a great amount of wealth from the United States to themselves through oil feel they can threaten oil consuming countries. They have us in a strangle hold and they’re not afraid to squeeze us harder.

President Bush has stated that he wants to see alternatives replace about 20% of present oil consumption by 2017. Meanwhile, industry experts expect bio-fuel use will increase from the 1% of energy consumption today to only 7% in the next decade. Hardly enough to begin threatening the world with possible self created oil shortages in the near future.

Abdalla El-Badri further suggests that if bio-fuels fail to reach expected levels and oil production is not increased, oil prices could soar. But, haven’t oil prices already started to soar? A barrel of oil has risen in recent years from about $35 a barrel to $70, a doubling in price. And, wouldn’t even higher oil prices just give us more incentive to find oil alternatives even as economic chaos ensues as a result of even higher prices.

I think the western world has just about had enough of the oil cartel and other oil monsters like Venezuela and Russia. We’ve been attacked on 9/11 with the aid of money we’ve supplied to oil exporters. We see our soldiers and citizens being murdered with weapons paid for with oil revenues. We are seeing these revenues used in an attempt to build nuclear weapons by countries that call us the “Great Satan” and demand our destruction. It’s past time to take steps to ELIMINATE our dependence upon oil. We need to develop alternative energies NOW and stop the murderers from being able to acquire the weapons and other means to harm us!

There is plenty of coal in the U.S. that can be used to power electric utilities in an environmentally friendly way through new technologies. It will cost us more for our power but our choice is going to be to pay ourselves or pay the oil producing countries. Battery technology must be found that will allow our cars to run several hundred miles on a single electric charge. Solar technology must be developed that will contribute to the power grid and individual homes. Technologies must be developed to extract oil from the vast reserves of oil shale in the western U.S.

All it will take to make these energy alternatives happen in a big way is for government and industry to invest in developing these technologies NOW, not later when oil skyrockets to $150 or $200 a barrel and our enemies have even more weapons and technology to use against us. We need energy dependence NOW not later. Wouldn’t we rather pay $5.00 for a gallon of gas than continuing to see our wealth be transferred to the middle east and be used against us?

The new technologies are only going to happen if we tell our Congressmen and Senators that we want action. We need to make sure corporate America gets the message that we demand alternative fuels and energy and we are will to pay for American energy. WRITE YOUR GOVERNMENT REPRESENTATIVES, make corporations realize you are willing to pay more for American energy and technology.

WE CANNOT AFFORD TO WAIT ANY LONGER! WE MUST ACT NOW!