Syriana: Blood and Oil assignment

 

Essay rough draft: April 30
Final draft: May 7

 

In his book Blood and Oil Michael Klare paints a pretty bleak picture of the coming years.  As demand for oil soars, production levels off and soon our economic way of life is in danger.  States may compete for oil by engaging in small scale wars in oil regions, or perhaps directly confronting each other.  If true, then we are at the end of an era of cheap energy, and perhaps on the verge of an era of economic trouble and global violence.

 

Current high oil prices and tensions in the Gulf, including the US war in Iraq, are what one might expect to see if Klare is accurate.  If the US is worried about future oil security and economic well being, trying to gain a pro-American ally in the state with the third largest oil reserves could be very rational.  Yet tensions in that region remain high and that creates uncertainties and danger.

 

Others, however, believe the fear is overblown.  The US government and Saudi Arabia argue that production of oil can continue to rise until about 2030, and that gives us more than enough time to develop alternatives.  Yet alternatives are being developed only slowly.  Some, like hydrogen fuel cells, are simply energy transfers, meaning that they can’t solve an energy crisis.  Others, like solar power, cost a lot of energy to produce at first – solar panels require considerable energy to build.  If we wait to try to massively construct solar panels when a crisis hits, they will be very expensive and we won’t be able to produce them fast enough.  Biofuels sound good, but already we see that this may contribute to famines world wide and high food prices.  Is cheap gas really worth increasing third world hunger?  Oil sands in Canada will provide some fuel for a long time, but can’t bring large quantities to market.  Oil exploration is increasing, but absent a major find (far beyond what we’ve been discovering), the best we can hope for are short term gains.

 

Klare believes the US is gearing for some “hot years” of military engagement in the Mideast, perhaps a war with Iran, to try to make sure that the countries currently in the Persian gulf supply oil to the US, and undercut efforts by China and India to increase access.  Increasingly, he argues, the diplomatic and political game is really about oil, even if we use the rhetoric of anti-terrorism or concern about Israel or WMD. 

 

In this essay, I want something different.  Rather than analyze Klare’s argument or answer specific questions, I want you to reflect on your reaction to Klare’s argument and view of the future.  Most of you are very young, though we’re lucky to have a few non-traditional students as well.  Think about the world you want and expect to have in the future, and how it could be threatened by our oil addiction and the dangers Klare describes.  Is there anything we can do?  Is there anything you can do?  For those of you who are older, with children or grandchildren, think about what this means for their world along the same lines.

 

The best essays will show knowledge of Klare’s book, and go into some detail on different aspects of his argument.  You also can be critical of Klare’s argument, you don’t have to assume he’s accurate in his view of the future.