High school geography taught us that the Straight of Hormuz, which divides Iran and the United Arab Emirates, is roughly 21 miles wide and that twenty percent of the world's oil flows through it. In the not so improbable case that Iran ultimately attempts to close this straight (as it has threatened to do before), either in provocation, in retaliation, or as part of a larger geopolitical conflict, it will be important that our currently untapped U.S.-based oil reserves are available and sufficient to carry this nation through such a crisis. The time to ensure adequate access to these petroleum resources is not once the U.S. begins its response to Iranian aggression. The time for that preparation is now.
With light sweet crude futures now priced in excess of $90 a barrel, an ambitious short and long-term energy policy that enhances U.S. access to petroleum becomes critical for many reasons, one of which is that, at some point, the impact on the U.S. economy of mounting petroleum and gasoline inflation will prove painful and probably extremely so to Americans and this economy. It's true that ethanol and other non-fossil fuels bring pleasant images of a world beyond all of this. But in a challenging Persian Gulf geopolitical conflict, which could yet emerge this year or next, the infancy of ethanol and other alternative energy sources does not yet position them as our salvation.
Article comments
1 - Dr Dreadful
Tiny quibble:
It's the Strait of Hormuz, not Straight.
2 - Christopher Rose
That's dire!
;-)
3 - Clavos
...aand it's not even a straight strait...
4 - Dr Dreadful
Should the body of water between San Francisco and Tiburon be called a gay?
5 - REMF
^ at least it's straighter than munchkins...
6 - Clavos
You are a bad boy, Doc!
7 - Franco
Well written and informitive ipinion pieces.
Right off of U.S. coastal waters……..European and other nations are right now drilling for oil in areas where our own Congress has prohibited such drilling by American oil companies.
Why?
it will be important that our currently untapped U.S.-based oil reserves are available and sufficient to carry this nation through such a crisis. The time to ensure adequate access to these petroleum resources is not once the U.S. begins its response to Iranian aggression. The time for that preparation is now.
What's holding up the show?
8 - Ruvy in Jerusalem
Petroleum is an important material for making things like computers and other packages that do not contain food or drink.
But truth be told, for liquid fuel, or any other purpose, it is not needed at all. The tchnology to replace it is already here, and can be developed in short order....
When the firms come out with those materials, it will be a pleasure to see the faces of all the oil execs and their ba(n)ckers who now think they are in the catbird's seat, as they suddenly realize they are as expendable as Burger King employees.
9 - Clavos
"off of U.S. coastal waters, European and other nations are right now drilling for oil in areas where our own Congress has prohibited such drilling by American oil companies."
Off the US coast??? That's the first I've heard that.
Exactly where?
10 - Clavos
"When the firms come out with those materials, it will be a pleasure to see the faces of all the oil execs and their ba(n)ckers who now think they are in the catbird's seat, as they suddenly realize they are as expendable as Burger King employees."
Ruvy, Ruvy, Ruvy...
Who do you think is going to be supplying those materials? The oil companies--already, they are all spending billions on R & D for alternative fuels; they're not just OIL companies, Ruvy. They are ENERGY companies.
And they're not stupid. If some one else comes up with a good alternative fuel, they'll buy (or steal) the process. They are not about to go out of business any time soon.
11 - Dave Nalle
Clavos has a good point. Shell and BP are among the world's leading producers of solar panels (made from petroleum byproducts) while Chevron is going into the alternative fuels business on a large scale with ethanol and biodiesel.
Dave