Condi Rice is apparently being given a final chance by Dick Cheney to get sufficient support to back a political stranglehold on Iran or to step aside for military action to begin. The Iranians are also uttering threats along the lines of Saddam's, echoing the run up to the Iraq invasion.
We must not lose sight of the facts relating to energy and the world superpowers determination to jockey for a position of influence in the Middle East nor Iran's real reason for developing a nuclear arsenal.
Oil reserves need to be considered in terms of conventional and non-conventional reserves, the cost of extraction and processing differentiating between the two. The cheaper and technically more accessible reserves are obviously more sought after and Iran has the second highest reserves of conventional oil and gas reserves. This makes it a focus for the West. The fear of Iran being allied to Russia, who already are poised to dictate an uncertain future supply scenario for Europe, is more than the present White House staff can permit.
In terms of coventional reserves, Saudi Arabia is No.1, with Iraq No.3 and Qatar's North field considered to be the single largest gas field in the world. Currently, Saudi Arabia and Qatar are relatively pro-West, but the future of Iran and Iraq and the potential for unfriendly developments can't be ignored, especially with increasing fundamentalist influences upon the Middle East.
This leads to an ever greater need for alternative energy sources to be developed so as to reduce our reliance upon fossil fuels. Whilst oil companies are so influential, this development is likely to be hampered.
Once again, there is only one course of action for ordinary people to follow and that is to reduce daily energy consumption. As we stand, oil is fetching record high prices - imagine what will happen when the USA and Israel attack Iran !
Global warming and climate change must be slowed down and yet we see far more attention being paid by world leaders to securing medium term supplies of fossil fuels, than addressing the catastrophic longer term threat posed through climate change.
The runaway train of fossil-fuel-fed industrialisation will approach the end of the track at fatal speed, if gradual braking is not applied by a concerned public.
Have you put in place a high recycling and lower energy consumption strategy yet? If not, join www.reduceco2.co.uk and do your bit for the future.
Denny
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment