The extent to which the world's largest and arguably most destructive, industry influences and dictates policy and politics--particularly in the United States today--is what we call PetroPolitics. Our collective addiction to oil is at the root of at least six fundamental issues facing our nation, and our planet, today: corporate-driven globalization, global warming, poverty, war, terrorism, and the undue influence of money on the political process.
Corporate Globalization: Big Oil, the biggest Big Business, calls the shots from the White House to the WTO. Our nation's energy policy was drafted with Big Oil at the table, and the public out in the cold. Trade practices advanced by Big Oil promote their corporate interests over the public interest--jobs at home or human needs abroad. Why? Perhaps its in part because oil companies donated over $34 million to candidates in the US during the 2000 campaign. In the 2004 cycle, oil interests have already donated almost $5 million dollars to political candidates – 83% of that has gone to Republicans, 17% to Democrats. The first step to ending our collective addition to oil is reducing oil's influence over our politicians and demanding political independence from Big Oil. Oil is Greed.
Global warming : Big Oil is responsible for the majority of the emissions that are changing our climate and causing global warming. Big Oil is also responsible for countless environmental problems, from the Exxon Valdez oil spill and countless other spills to pollution from refineries causing cancer and gas station leaks contaminating the groundwater in our neighborhoods. Oil is Dirty.
Domestic Recessions and Global Development : In the US , our addiction to oil hurts our economy - every recession over the last 30 years has begun with a rise in oil prices. Globally, the discovery of oil leads not to riches, but to ruin. As a general rule, oil-producing countries in the Middle East , in the Caspian Basin , in the Gulf of Guinea , and elsewhere around the world have increased levels of poverty, civil war, and totalitarian rule. Oil is Poverty.
War : A recent study by the World Bank found that countries that export oil are more than forty times more likely to be engaged in civil war than countries that do not produce oil. The Iraq War is only the latest example of decades of US military involvement and covert action in oil-producing regions. While oil may not be the only reason for US engagement in these conflicts, it is simply not credible to deny that Iraq 's oil is a central factor in the Bush administration's interest in the region. Oil is War.
National Security and terrorism: Two-thirds of all of the world's remaining oil is in the Middle East . 25 percent of it is in Saudi Arabia alone, with Iraq second in line. As long as our economy relies on oil and our foreign policy is geared towards controlling the world's oil markets, anger towards US policies will grow. The problem is not Arabs or Islam--the problem is US government support for repressive regimes and the terrorism it breeds. Oil is Fear.
My name is Uncle Sam and I'm an oil addict: Politicians and the American people know that oil is bad, but feel powerless to change things. Now more than ever, the barriers to a clean energy transition are political, not technical. Hybrid cars, greater energy efficiency, and wind power are economically viable technologies today; hydrogen-powered vehicles and solar energy have great potential to be competitive, if granted a fraction of the political support and subsidies Big Oil is routinely granted. And yet our politicians continue to use our tax money to subsidize Big Oil to the tune of billions of dollars every year. The first step in ending our collective addition to oil is reducing oil's influence over our politicians and demanding political independence from Big Oil. Oil is addiction.
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http://www.petropolitics.org/pp.htm
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