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BOOK REVIEW Blood and Oil: The Dangers and Consequences of America's Growing Dependency on Imported Petroleum, by Michael T. Klare Metropolitan Books - September 2004
Reviewed by Dr. Jonathan Dolhenty
It is unfortunate, I think, that a book such as this has to be written. One would think that intelligent beings, such as we claim to be, would long ago have realized that there is not an endless quantity of oil on this planet and that a largely petroleum-based economy, such as we are, would eventually run out of that basic resource. We should have been furiously seeking a comparative alternative, beginning many decades ago. Now we face a self-created dilemma, as Michael Klare so clearly points out in "Blood and Oil." The United States consumes about twenty-five percent of the world's oil supply, yet the population of the United States is less than five percent of the world's total. We are, in other less complimentary words, "oil hogs." We love energy and the benefits it provides and, unfortunately, most of the energy we consume is related in some way, directly or indirectly, to petroleum. It must be noted, however, that the day is coming when energy derived from petroleum is going to be hard to come by as sources of that "liquid gold" are depleted. And Klare provides most of the statistics one needs to consider in his book; and up-to-date statistics, I might add. Most of Klare's book is devoted to a history of the problem and its contemporary ramifications, including the current and ongoing war in Iraq. There are, for instance, a few salient points he makes at the beginning of his book which should be especially pondered by readers, because they address the motivation for the present military conflict that the United States is engaged in. Consider what the author points out in his Preface:
Now I know many people will dispute the author's conclusion that "such statements cannot be true." But one does have to ask oneself: "Why Iraq at this point in time and not some other unstable region of the world or some other country ruled by a ruthless dictator." After all, there are plenty of areas of the world where people are suffering greater hardships than Iraq was prior to the U.S. intervention. I suspect that any critical reader can discern that the only thing Iraq and its environs have, outside of a lot of sand and sun, is oil. There is nothing more there to fight over. It is at least my opinion, upon serious reflection, that we wouldn't be the least bit interested in Iraq and its former or current regime if not for the oil. Here, I think, Klare clearly makes his point and forces us to face the question: "Are we willing to continually spill American blood for the sake of providing a comfortable living for the folks at home in the U.S.A. who insist on all the luxuries provided by a petroleum-based economy?" And that brings me to what Klare has to say in the last chapter of his book. The first six chapters simply describe the problem and the dilemma we are facing. While this historical sketch is important, I was disappointed that only one chapter (Chapter 7) is devoted to the question: "How do we solve the problem?" And I am not too sure about some of the things the author suggests. In the chapter, entitled "Escaping the Dilemma," he asks, "How do we find our way out of this trap?" That is, how do we become less dependent on foreign oil and petroleum in general? He suggests it will call for a "paradigm shift," that is, a change in our view about energy, and he uses the recent change in attitude about smoking in public places as an example of such a paradigm shift resulting in new policies toward such an activity. I submit this is a rather weak illustration since, at least as I see it, the issue of smoking in public places hardly rises to the level of a radical change in political or economic behavior. He might have been better off, perhaps, in using the institution of black slavery and the paradigm shift that occurred over many decades regarding that issue. The changing of attitudes toward slavery, both political and economic, were far more radical and, I suggest, more akin, to what the American public will face in moving from a petroleum-based economy to one that is not. That matter aside, Klare states that solving the present problem requires progress in the following areas:
How can one disagree with these statements? Regarding the first suggestion, this could be taken right out of the playbook of one of our founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson, who said "Peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations -- entangling alliances with none." Our so-called "conservatives" and neoconservatives, that is, those who seem to think America has to bring peace and stability to the rest of the world through military intervention and political alliances with despotic governments (a few Arab states come to mind?), should reassess their thoughts and maybe they will come to realize it makes no sense to trade the blood of thousands of American soldiers to protect the economic interests of those who, in the long run, are going to be forced to modify their thinking and behavior when the present petroleum-based economy becomes a historical remnant. Regarding the second suggestion made by Klare: yes, we need to rid ourselves of our reliance on imported oil and I think he makes the case for that in spades. I also agree with him that we must be very cautious about exploiting any of our domestic sources of that resource. To destroy or impair our present environment for the sake of a future state of affairs is both foolhardy and unnecessary. We must not sacrifice our country's future for a short-term advantage or for mere convenience. And this brings us to his third point: preparing the way for the inevitable transition to a postpetroleum economy. We must develop new sources of energy and/or speed up our efforts regarding the expansion of sources of energy we already know about. Personally, I am in favor of safe, inexpensive nuclear energy for many of our needs. I am aware that many environmentalists are critical of nuclear energy, but I think they should rethink their position. There is no reason why we can't develop that as a safe and inexpensive source of energy, and, moreover, it is renewable and essentially environmentally protective; we only have to solve the problem of disposing of the waste that is a byproduct of the process of producing it. Since we have come a long way in disposing of human waste via special facilities invented in fairly recent history, we should have no problem, if we dedicate ourselves to it, to figuring out how to dispose of nuclear waste. Another thing: we need to consider supplanting petroleum with other sources of energy such as increased production of ethanol and other alcohol-based chemicals. We produce enough vegetative waste in this country to probably fuel many trips to the far reaches of space. And, also, I am reminded of that tall, annual herb with small green flowers and fibrous stems, called "hemp." Here is a natural resource whose derivatives could replace many of the petroleum-based products we currently manufacture, as well as be utilized as a source of energy to power machines, including automobiles and other means of transportation, if only our politicians would make it legal to grow and develop it for industrial purposes. Regardless of how one thinks about the petroleum-based economy we presently enjoy, Klare's analysis of the coming crisis is, I regretfully suspect, is right on the mark. There is, after all, only so much oil to be exploited. Eventually, as he states, we will run out. Then what? What the author of "Blood and Oil" seems to be trying to do is to motivate us to take this problem seriously now -- rather than later when it may be too late to do much about it -- and to develop a strategy toward resolving the problem without resorting to the means we are currently using, that is, spilling the blood of American soldiers to protect a resource which is going to disappear anyway in the not-to-distant future. Our government officials and politicians are not being forthright with us, the American people. Are we willing to sacrifice America's long-term interests for the current political platitudes which will assure their continuing tenure in office? Although this is not a great book, it is a timely book, and Klare, I think, forces us to think deeply about what's going on around us right now and what we may face in the near future. Just for the updated statistics about the problem regarding oil resources and consumption, I would have to recommend it to all readers interested in our future and the direction our country appears to be taking. Order at Amazon.com |
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Enrich your life with a book about politics and current events... Enrich your political & social life with a politics or news magazine... |
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