Geopolitics & resource wars

When I first saw the film "Three Kings" years ago, it occurred to me that it was one of the clearest explanations of American foreign policy I had ever seen. I am certain, however, that this was not the intention of the filmmaker. But let's see how the story illuminates our foreign policy.

Outrageous, snarky, “madly engaging,” bileful—these are a few of the terms that have been used to describe author and social critic James Howard Kunstler. But he’s actually a great deal more than these things, as anyone who's really come to know him, even if only through his books and Internet postings, can tell you. His most personal writings reveal a human, vulnerable, wonderfully versatile, cheerful side that few people know exists.

Some nineteen months ago, this blog launched what I thought would be a relatively straightforward survey of the role of myth, narrative and the nonrational in shaping the peak oil debate. After a flurry of unexpected detours into Seventies appropriate tech, the end of the Space Age, and the theory of magic, just for starters, that survey has finally reached as much closure as it's going to find. A glance back over the terrain just surveyed is in order, and a few loose ends need to be tied up, before proceeding to the next major theme I want to examine -- the twilight of America's empire and the implications of that massive geopolitical fact for the world.

A weekly roundup of peak oil news, including:
-Oil and the global economy
-The Iranian confrontation
-Gasoline
-In the Congress
-Quote of the week
-Briefs

Now more than ever, leaders need to focus on what matters most - the long-term resilience of people and the planet - the High-level Panel on Global Sustainability urged in its report presented today to UN Secretary-General BAN Ki-moon in Addis Ababa.

The 22-member Panel, established by the Secretary-General in August 2010 to formulate a new blueprint for sustainable development and low-carbon prosperity, was co-chaired by the presidents of Finland and South Africa. The final report contains 56 recommendations to put sustainable development into practice and to mainstream it into economic policy as quickly as possible.

(excerpts from the final report)

- Put planet and its people at the core of sustainable development, urges report
- UN panel aims for 'a future worth choosing'
- UN paints bleak picture of sustainability
- U.N. pitches Rio+20 talks as a departure from political strife over climate change

All of a sudden, the Strait of Hormuz has become the most combustible spot on the planet, the most likely place to witness a major conflict between well-armed adversaries.  Why, of all locales, has it become so explosive?

Oil, of course, is a major part of the answer, but -- and this may surprise you -- only a part.

A weekly roundup of peak oil news, including:
-Oil and the global economy
-the Iranian confrontation
-The Euro crisis
-Refining petroleum
-Quote of the week
-Briefs

A midweekly roundup of peak oil news, including:
-Developments this week

Michael Mandlebaum argues in The Frugal Superpower that the US is too cash-strapped to continue its interventionist stance. He advises cutting oil dependence.

- EU prepares unprecedented attack on Iranian economy
- Barrelling towards fuel shortages
- An Iran war is brewing from mutual ignorance and chronic miscalculation

A midweekly roundup of peak oil news, including:
-Developments this week

Some economists have claimed that the U.S. economy is less vulnerable to oil price shocks than it used to be. Close down the Strait of Hormuz, and you'll get a good test of that theory.

- Oil Climbs From Four-Week Low as Iran Warns of Hormuz Supply Disruption
- India to pay for Iran crude in rupees
- Juan Cole: Iran Hype undermined by Obama Administration Admissions
- Iran playing war games, but not in video arcades

- U.S. Sends Top Iranian Leader a Warning on Strait Threat
- Who is responsible for the Iran nuclear scientists attacks?
- Russia Warns of US Strike on Iran
- Tom Hayden: Preventing the Coming War with Iran