Power

Wednesday morning is here once again. And I can say that I slept better last night. The 3 nights spent in the hotel last weekend reminded me of just how much I dislike hotel beds. Absolutely painful! But I am one of those odd people that love an extra firm mattress. A layer of blankets placed directly on the floor would be ideal.

This morning I was reading an article about the growing concern among State department officials and other administration higher-ups, that Iran, Venezuela, Russia, and other nations have gained far too much political power because of their oil wealth. It really was another one of those “duh!” moments, as the only way these nations can have that kind of political power is if we let them. It’s our dependence on oil that creates this kind of power. Venezuela’s oil export revenue will hit $35 billion this year. In 1998, that figure was $13 billion. Iran has made over $25 billion in windfall profits this year. And the “new” Russia no longer has to borrow money from us. They will earn $110 billion this year and that’s up 22% from last year. That’s a lot of money…and a lot of political power.

There is only one way to reduce that power and that is to stop using so much oil. Yet, the current administration has decided that a gentle reminder that, perhaps, we shouldn’t drive so much will be sufficient. Hello!? Bush has gone out of his way to encourage gasoline consumption by refusing to change the C.A.F.E standards for the automobile industry. Fuel efficiency is not a priority for Republicans.

A story about the new GM models got my attention when I saw that the “new and improved” Yukon will have increased mileage as one of its selling points. Yes, it get 1 (one) more mile per gallon than last years model.

Some figures to go along with this ranting…
Leading oil consumers (2004)
U.S.A. 20.5 millions of barrels per day
China 6.5 millions of barrels per day
Japan 5.4 millions of barrels per day
Germany 2.6 millions of barrels per day
Russia 2.6 millions of barrels per day

Leading world oil exporters of oil (2004)
Saudi Arabia 8.73 millions of barrels per day
Russia 6.67 millions of barrels per day
Norway 2.91 millions of barrels per day
Iran 2.55 millions of barrels per day
Venezuela 2.36 millions of barrels per day

These figures tell the story. As I said, these other nations have more power over us because we give it to them. And, no surprise!, those nations enjoy wielding that power.