Hi MM >This has been one of my favorite all-time evworld.com interviews. I >thought that the interview subject made many unusually >direct-to-the-debate points. Furthermore, he seemed able to keep >focused on the alt-fuel issue and the political ties to it, and to >acknowledge the extremely wide variety of political rationales that we >all find, without tying himself in knots. I don't understand why more >folks can't achieve this. > >Now, in posting this to the biofuel group (where there is a lot of >international diversity and recent political clamor and a lot of >strong well-researched opining on ethanol issues) and the renewable >group, I realize that some here may find, for one reason or another, >that they do not like the article as much as I. So be it.
A major reservation I have with this whole line of thought is the demonizing of the Middle East, and especially Saudi Arabia, because of the US "dependence" on their oil. What this thinking leaves out, evades, is that it's highly unlikely that Saudi Arabia would be the repressive place it still is were it not for the long-standing and heavy-handed influence there of the US and the (mostly US) oil corporations, which have propped up the Saudi regime no matter what. Now that it's finally become the game of consequences that was so predictable from the start, the US (as usual) just wants to walk away, leaving its mess behind, as it's done twice in Afghanistan and will almost certainly do in Iraq. Re Afghanistan, despite all the promises: >The Bush administration has shown that it has a very short attention >span on post-conflict humanitarian efforts. The White House didn't >request a single dollar for humanitarian aid to Afghanistan in this >year's budget -- Congress had to take the unusual step of adding in >$300 million. This evasion kind of knocks the props out from under Mr Woolsey, IMO, and many others with him. >If anyone sees a specific point they'd like to debate or discuss, >please point it out. For my money, Mr. Woolsey made so many >interesting points that I am hard-pressed to choose one to discuss, >but I will: > >http://evworld.com/databases/printit.cfm?storyid=508 > > >He sees the introduction of small scale biomass technology in >developing countries without oil reserves and often saddled by huge >international debt, as a way to help those countries ease themselves >out from these financial burdens. "A large part of that is for >imported petroleum," he tells EV World. "I call this a potential >alliance between the cheap hawks, the do-gooders, the farmers and >the tree-huggers. We've got the beginnings of a fairly substantial >coalition," he concludes > >An interesting (to me) way of looking at things. > >He spoke at some length of how, in his view, biofuel production at a >local level could help out an economy in a nascient economy. I had to >wonder what Keith would think of that. For example, you could view >the following as sort of patronizing, but I still thought it had some >meat on it: > > >"If you look at a country like Nigeria," he observes, " the Niger >delta has one of the world's great oil supplies and it's sitting >there pumping. People who live on top of it aren't getting any >benefit from that. There are rebellions from time to time. They are >poor tribesmen. Nobody is using [the oil] to help them. If they are >subsistence farmers and they have an acre or two of land to grow >crops for their family, if they can take the agricultural waste to a >nearby biomass ethanol facility and produce transportation fuel, >that's an extra bit of income for them, maybe if its only fifty or a >hundred dollars a year, and they are making only three or four >hundred dollars a year, that's substantial change." > > Well, yes, in a fumbling sort of way, but at least he's not blind to it all. Why, though, does he pick on Nigeria and the 3rd World rather than the community level in the US? He talks a bit of reviving hard-hit local economies in the US with local biofuels production, but doesn't really seem to see the need to decentralize energy production itself (and much besides). He's not clear on this issue - he should pay a visit to the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. He does know of it - elsewhere he's quoted the ILSR's David Morris, but it's a fumbling awareness. But then I wouldn't expect someone with Mr Woolsey's background to be quite comfortable with the idea of self-reliant local communities, in the US or anywhere else. Typically, he skirts the real problems in the Niger delta, it's MUCH worse than that. There's more than a hint of this noxious idea that the rest of the world is only there to serve as a sort of Walmart to supply America's needs and greeds, with the only issue to be considered being what's printed on the price tag. Sort of patronizing, yes. Well, that's an attitude you'll find elsewhere in the OECD, and though the US is probably the worst culprit, it's only a metter of degree. But yes, MM, it is an interesting piece, and I agree with the writer's conclusion that Mr Woolsey might indeed have his uses. Such pragmatism only goes so far though before it hits ethical limitations, which usually turn out to be a rather more practical matter than pragmatists like to admit. Woolsey is an ex-CIA director, now a director of BCI. He's co-written articles with Richard G. Lugar, who's been described as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Archer Daniels Midland - Big Ethanol, Big Soy, not our friends. Have to quote Steve once again on this: "I have a niggling feeling that 10 years from now, the environmentalists will be fighting the ethanol industry tooth and nail. anything can be done badly, and I expect the ADM's of the world will be successful in turning a clean renewable resource into a dirty unsustainable one..." (Hey Steve - I got it right this time! <g>) See my next message for links to Woolsey and Lugar on "The New Petroleum" etc. - "Trends in New Crops and New Uses". >Note that, as we speak, Nigeria seems to be in the midst of civil >unrest, continuing to interrupt its oil flow. Aren't they the sixth >largest supplier to the states or something? Nigerian low output was >one of the reasons for the rise in the price of oil these last few >months. So, that reason has not been removed, although others have >been and the price seems to have turned downward: > >http://futures.tradingcharts.com/chart/CO/43 > >There does seem to have been a corresponding drop in unleaded gas as >traded on the exchanges: > >http://futures.tradingcharts.com/chart/UG/43 > >There has *not* been *any* substantial drop in the price of unleaded >gas, at the pump, down the street from where I live. $2.19 at the >shell station, for 87 octane, just 3 cents (1.2% or so) drop from the >localized down-the-street-highs of $2.22 last week. This hasn't been >surprising to me. At-the-pump prices do come down, eventually, but >they are seemingly "sticky", sort of quick to go up, and somewhat more >reluctant to come down, or so it sometimes seems. "Conspiracy" >theorists around here often point this out as a primary example of >"gouging". > >Most business people, in my view, are out to "conspire" to maximize >most or all of their profit (heaven forbid), "People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or in some contrivance to raise prices." - Adam Smith, "Wealth of Nations". >though it's a tricky >thing because when you have a monopoly, or are perceived to have >achieved one, then public opinion will be directed against you more >strongly, and rightly so. The pace with which the prices come down >does seem to me, as a consumer, like a betrayal of sorts at times, but >right now there's nothing I can do about it. I look forward to a >greater competition and diversity in fuels so perhaps this pace would >be quickened. And maybe we could get rid of this insulting 9/10 of a >cent that all gas sold in the U.S. (don't know about elsewhere) seems >to have. I don't know of any other industries where the sellers feel >compelled to insult the purchasers in this way. It's general merchandising practice, isn't it? "Save! Buy now! Only $9.99!" Best Keith ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> Your own Online Store Selling our Overstock. http://us.click.yahoo.com/rZll0B/4ftFAA/46VHAA/FGYolB/TM ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Biofuels list archives: http://archive.nnytech.net/ Please do NOT send Unsubscribe messages to the list address. To unsubscribe, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
