[Upd-discuss] FPIF News | Administration's Energy Policy | Global Climate
IRC Communications
communications@irc-online.org
Thu, 11 Mar 2004 12:37:18 -0700
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What=92s New at FPIF
=93Working to make the U.S. a more responsible global leader and partner=94
http://www.fpif.org/
March 11, 2004
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Introducing five new reports from Foreign Policy In Focus
Bush-Cheney Energy Strategy: Procuring the Rest of the World's Oil
By Michael Klare
The United States is faced with a grave choice between two widely diverging=
=20
paths. It could continue down the road it has long been traveling,=20
consuming increasing amounts of petroleum and--given the irreversible=20
decline in domestic oil production--becoming ever more dependent on=20
imported supplies. Or, it could choose an alternate route of reliance on=20
renewable sources of energy and gradually reducing petroleum use.
In the end, Bush made a clear decision regarding future U.S. energy=20
behavior by supporting the Cheney energy plan. Knowing that nothing can=20
reverse the long-term decline in domestic oil production, and unwilling to=
=20
curb the country's ever-growing thirst for petroleum products, he elected=20
to continue down the existing path of ever-increasing dependence on foreign=
=20
oil.
Michael T. Klare, author of Resource Wars: The New Landscape of Global=20
Conflict and the forthcoming Petropolitics (Metropolis Books, 2004) is a=20
professor of peace and world security studies at Hampshire College in=20
Amherst, Mass. and serves as an advisor to Foreign Policy In Focus (online=
=20
at www.fpif.org).
See complete new FPIF report online at:
http://www.fpif.org/papers/03petropol/politics.html
With printer-friendly PDF version at:
http://www.fpif.org/pdf/petropol/ch1.pdf
Fueling Conflict
By Michael Renner
The United States has gone to great lengths to maintain its domination over=
=20
world oil during the past half-century. It has done so by propping up=20
client regimes with arms and credits, acquiring military bases,=20
overthrowing or marginalizing those that stand in the way, influencing the=
=20
routing of oil export pipelines, and exercising undisputed control over the=
=20
sea-lanes through which much of the world=92s oil is shipped.
The current U.S. occupation of Iraq is the latest chapter to draw=20
international attention to the violent history of oil. Post-Hussein Iraq is=
=20
caught in the twilight of an occupation marked by high imperial purpose and=
=20
symptoms of crony capitalism.
Michael Renner is a Senior Researcher at the Worldwatch Institute, project=
=20
director of the Institute=92s annual Vital Signs book, a compilation of=20
critical global trends, and a regular contributor to FPIF (www.fpif.org).
See complete new FPIF report online at:
http://www.fpif.org/papers/03petropol/war.html
With printer-friendly PDF version at:
http://www.fpif.org/pdf/petropol/ch3.pdf
Global Warming Backgrounder
By Tom Athanasiou
The Earth=92s average temperature has increased by about 0.6=B0C since the=
=20
industrial revolution. And this is just the beginning. The challenge is to=
=20
stop the warming before we reach =93dangerous climate change.=94
The world now must find a way beyond the Kyoto Protocol--a way to=20
incorporate both the developing world and the U.S. into an effective and=20
politically acceptable international climate regime.
Tom Athanasiou is the Co-director of EcoEquity, the co-author of Dead Heat:=
=20
Global Justice and Global Warming, and the author of Divided Planet: The=20
Ecology of Rich and Poor. He is also a regular contributor to FPIF=20
(www.fpif.org).
See complete new FPIF report online at:
http://www.fpif.org/papers/03petropol/climate.html
With printer-friendly PDF version at:
http://www.fpif.org/pdf/petropol/ch2.pdf
The Global Record
By Terry Lynn Karl and Ian Gary
Study after study demonstrates countries dependent on oil as their leading=
=20
export have performed worse than other developing countries on a variety of=
=20
economic indicators; and poverty within their borders has been exacerbated=
=20
rather than alleviated over the past two decades.
Even more worrisome, the gap between the expectations created by oil riches=
=20
and the reality produced is a dangerous formula for disorder and war.=20
Countries that depend upon oil exports, over time, are among the most=20
economically troubled, the most authoritarian, and the most conflict-ridden=
=20
states in the world today.
Terry Lynn Karl is Professor of Political Science and Senior Fellow,=20
Institute for International Studies, Stanford University. Ian Gary is=20
Strategic Issues Adviser for Africa with Catholic Relief Services.
See complete new FPIF report online at:
http://www.fpif.org/papers/03petropol/development.html
With printer-friendly PDF version at:
http://www.fpif.org/pdf/petropol/ch4.pdf
Toward A Global Energy Transition
By Ross Gelbspan
Two years ago, U.S. President George W. Bush reneged on a campaign promise=
=20
to cap carbon emissions from coal-burning power plants. In a truly=20
Orwellian stroke, the White House excised all references to the dangers of=
=20
climate change on the EPA=92s website in mid-2003. Finally, Bush withdrew=
the=20
United States from the Kyoto climate negotiations.
However, there may be an approach that could address our increasingly=20
inflamed atmosphere and our reluctant political leadership as well. It is=20
provisionally called the World Energy Modernization Plan. A plan with a set=
=20
of three interactive and mutually reinforcing strategies designed to reduce=
=20
the world=92s use of carbon fuels by at least 70%, and at the same time,=20
create millions of jobs around the world, especially in developing=
countries.
Ross Gelbspan is a former reporter for the Boston Globe, the author of The=
=20
Heat Is On: The High Stakes Battle over Earth=92s Threatened Climate=20
(www.heatisonline.org) and a regular contributor to FPIF (www.fpif.org).
See complete new FPIF report online at:
http://www.fpif.org/papers/03petropol/alternatives.html
With printer-friendly PDF version at:
http://www.fpif.org/pdf/petropol/ch5.pdf
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
***** We Count on Your Support *****
Please consider supporting Foreign Policy In Focus (FPIF). FPIF is a new=20
kind of think tank--one serving citizen movements and advancing a fresh,=20
internationalist understanding of global affairs. Although we make our FPIF=
=20
products freely available on the Internet, we need financial support to=20
cover our staff time and expenses. Increasingly, FPIF depends on you and=20
other individual donors to sustain our bare-bones budget. Click on=20
https://secure.iexposure.com/fpif.org/donate.cfm to support FPIF online, or=
=20
for information about making contributions over the phone or through the=20
mail. If you respond to this donation solicitation, please enter 'FPIF' in=
=20
the "Special Offer Code" field.
***** Thank you ******
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Distributed by FPIF:=93A Think Tank Without Walls,=94 a joint program of=20
Interhemispheric Resource Center (IRC) and Institute for Policy Studies=
(IPS).
For more information, visit www.fpif.org. If you would like to add a name=20
to the =93What=92s New At FPIF?=94 list, please email:=20
communications@irc-online.org, giving your area of interest.
Also see our Progressive Response newsletter at:=20
http://www.fpif.org/progresp/index.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Interhemispheric Resource Center (IRC)
http://www.irc-online.org/
Siri D. Khalsa
Outreach Coordinator
Email: communications@irc-online.org
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Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
<html>
<font size=3D2><b>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<br>
What=92s New at FPIF<br>
</b>=93Working to make the U.S. a more responsible global leader and
partner=94<br>
</font><font size=3D2 color=3D"#0000FF"><u>http://www.fpif.org/<br><br>
</u></font><font size=3D2>March 11, 2004<br>
<b>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<br>
</font> <br>
</b><font size=3D1><i>Introducing five new reports from Foreign Policy In
Focus<br><br>
</i></font><font size=3D2><b>Bush-Cheney Energy Strategy: Procuring the
Rest of the World's Oil<br>
</b>By Michael Klare<br><br>
The United States is faced with a grave choice between two widely
diverging paths. It could continue down the road it has long been
traveling, consuming increasing amounts of petroleum and--given the
irreversible decline in domestic oil production--becoming ever more
dependent on imported supplies. Or, it could choose an alternate route of
reliance on renewable sources of energy and gradually reducing petroleum
use.<br><br>
In the end, Bush made a clear decision regarding future U.S. energy
behavior by supporting the Cheney energy plan. Knowing that nothing can
reverse the long-term decline in domestic oil production, and unwilling
to curb the country's ever-growing thirst for petroleum products, he
elected to continue down the existing path of ever-increasing dependence
on foreign oil.<br><br>
<i>Michael T. Klare, author of </i>Resource Wars: The New Landscape of
Global Conflict<i> and the forthcoming </i>Petropolitics<i> (Metropolis
Books, 2004) is a professor of peace and world security studies at
Hampshire College in Amherst, Mass. and serves as an advisor to Foreign
Policy In Focus (online at
</font><font size=3D2 color=3D"#0000FF"><u>www.fpif.org</u></font><font=
size=3D2>).<br><br>
See complete new FPIF report online at:<br>
</font><font size=3D2 color=3D"#0000FF"><u><a=
href=3D"http://www.fpif.org/papers/03petropol/politics.html"=
eudora=3D"autourl">http://www.fpif.org/papers/03petropol/politics.html</a><=
/u></font><font size=3D2>
<br><br>
With printer-friendly PDF version at:<br>
</font><font size=3D2 color=3D"#0000FF"><u><a=
href=3D"http://www.fpif.org/pdf/petropol/ch1.pdf"=
eudora=3D"autourl">http://www.fpif.org/pdf/petropol/ch1.pdf</a><br><br>
</u></i></font><font size=3D2><b>Fueling Conflict<br>
</b>By Michael Renner<br>
<br>
The United States has gone to great lengths to maintain its domination
over world oil during the past half-century. It has done so by propping
up client regimes with arms and credits, acquiring military bases,
overthrowing or marginalizing those that stand in the way, influencing
the routing of oil export pipelines, and exercising undisputed control
over the sea-lanes through which much of the world=92s oil is=20
shipped.<br>
<br>
The current U.S. occupation of Iraq is the latest chapter to draw
international attention to the violent history of oil. Post-Hussein Iraq
is caught in the twilight of an occupation marked by high imperial
purpose and symptoms of crony capitalism. <br>
<br>
<i>Michael Renner is a Senior Researcher at the Worldwatch Institute,
project director of the Institute=92s annual Vital Signs book, a
compilation of critical global trends, and a regular contributor to FPIF
(</font><a href=3D"http://www.fpif.org/" eudora=3D"autourl"><font size=3D2=
color=3D"#0000FF"><u>www.fpif.org</a></u></font><font size=3D2>).<br><br>
See complete new FPIF report online at:<br>
</font><font size=3D2 color=3D"#0000FF"><u><a=
href=3D"http://www.fpif.org/papers/03petropol/war.html"=
eudora=3D"autourl">http://www.fpif.org/papers/03petropol/war.html</a></u></=
font><font size=3D2>
<br><br>
With printer-friendly PDF version at:<br>
</font><font size=3D2 color=3D"#0000FF"><u><a=
href=3D"http://www.fpif.org/pdf/petropol/ch3.pdf"=
eudora=3D"autourl">http://www.fpif.org/pdf/petropol/ch3.pdf</a><br><br>
</u></i></font><font size=3D2><b>Global Warming Backgrounder<br>
</b>By Tom Athanasiou<br><br>
The Earth=92s average temperature has increased by about 0.6=B0C since the
industrial revolution. And this is just the beginning. The challenge is
to stop the warming before we reach =93dangerous climate change.=94<br><br>
The world now must find a way beyond the Kyoto Protocol--a way to
incorporate both the developing world and the U.S. into an effective and
politically acceptable international climate regime.<br><br>
<i>Tom Athanasiou is the Co-director of EcoEquity, the co-author of
</i>Dead Heat: Global Justice and Global Warming, <i>and the author
of</i> Divided Planet: The Ecology of Rich and Poor<i>. He is also a
regular contributor to FPIF
(</font><a href=3D"http://www.fpif.org/" eudora=3D"autourl"><font size=3D2=
color=3D"#0000FF"><u>www.fpif.org</a></u></font><font size=3D2>). &nbs=
p;
<br><br>
See complete new FPIF report online at:<br>
</i></font><font size=3D2 color=3D"#0000FF"><u><a=
href=3D"http://www.fpif.org/papers/03petropol/climate.html"=
eudora=3D"autourl">http://www.fpif.org/papers/03petropol/climate.html</a></=
u></font><font size=3D2>
<br><br>
<i>With printer-friendly PDF version at:<br>
</i></font><font size=3D2 color=3D"#0000FF"><u><a=
href=3D"http://www.fpif.org/pdf/petropol/ch2.pdf"=
eudora=3D"autourl">http://www.fpif.org/pdf/petropol/ch2.pdf</a><br><br>
</u></font><font size=3D2><b>The Global Record<br>
</b>By Terry Lynn Karl and Ian Gary<br><br>
Study after study demonstrates countries dependent on oil as their
leading export have performed worse than other developing countries on a
variety of economic indicators; and poverty within their borders has been
exacerbated rather than alleviated over the past two decades.<br>
<br>
Even more worrisome, the gap between the expectations created by oil
riches and the reality produced is a dangerous formula for disorder and
war. Countries that depend upon oil exports, over time, are among the
most economically troubled, the most authoritarian, and the most
conflict-ridden states in the world today.<br>
<br>
<i>Terry Lynn Karl is Professor of Political Science and Senior Fellow,
Institute for International Studies, Stanford University. Ian Gary is
Strategic Issues Adviser for Africa with Catholic Relief
Services.<br><br>
See complete new FPIF report online at:<br>
</font><font size=3D2 color=3D"#0000FF"><u><a=
href=3D"http://www.fpif.org/papers/03petropol/development.html"=
eudora=3D"autourl">http://www.fpif.org/papers/03petropol/development.html</=
a><br><br>
</u></font><font size=3D2>With printer-friendly PDF version at:<br>
</font><font size=3D2 color=3D"#0000FF"><u><a=
href=3D"http://www.fpif.org/pdf/petropol/ch4.pdf"=
eudora=3D"autourl">http://www.fpif.org/pdf/petropol/ch4.pdf</a><br><br>
</u></i></font><font size=3D2><b>Toward A Global Energy Transition<br>
</b>By Ross Gelbspan<br><br>
Two years ago, U.S. President George W. Bush reneged on a campaign
promise to cap carbon emissions from coal-burning power plants. In a
truly Orwellian stroke, the White House excised all references to the
dangers of climate change on the EPA=92s website in mid-2003. Finally, Bush
withdrew the United States from the Kyoto climate negotiations.<br>
<br>
However, there may be an approach that could address our increasingly
inflamed atmosphere and our reluctant political leadership as well. It is
provisionally called the World Energy Modernization Plan. A plan with a
set of three interactive and mutually reinforcing strategies designed to
reduce the world=92s use of carbon fuels by at least 70%, and at the same
time, create millions of jobs around the world, especially in developing
countries.<br>
<br>
<i>Ross Gelbspan is a former reporter for the Boston Globe, the author of
</i>The Heat Is On: The High Stakes Battle over Earth=92s Threatened
Climate<i>
(</font><a href=3D"http://www.heatisonline.org/" eudora=3D"autourl"><font=
size=3D2 color=3D"#0000FF"><u>www.heatisonline.org</a>)</u></i></font><font=
size=3D2>
<i>and a regular contributor to FPIF
(</font><a href=3D"http://www.fpif.org/" eudora=3D"autourl"><font size=3D2=
color=3D"#0000FF"><u>www.fpif.org</a></u></font><font size=3D2>).
<br><br>
See complete new FPIF report online at:<br>
</font><font size=3D2 color=3D"#0000FF"><u><a=
href=3D"http://www.fpif.org/papers/03petropol/alternatives.html"=
eudora=3D"autourl">http://www.fpif.org/papers/03petropol/alternatives.html<=
/a><br><br>
</u></font><font size=3D2>With printer-friendly PDF version at:<br>
</font><font size=3D2 color=3D"#0000FF"><u><a=
href=3D"http://www.fpif.org/pdf/petropol/ch5.pdf"=
eudora=3D"autourl">http://www.fpif.org/pdf/petropol/ch5.pdf</a><br><br>
<br>
</u></i></font><div align=3D"center"><font=
size=3D2>------------------------------------------------------------------=
-------<br>
***** We Count on Your Support *****<br><br>
</div>
Please consider supporting Foreign Policy In Focus (FPIF). FPIF is a new
kind of think tank--one serving citizen movements and advancing a fresh,
internationalist understanding of global affairs. Although we make our
FPIF products freely available on the Internet, we need financial support
to cover our staff time and expenses. Increasingly, FPIF depends on you
and other individual donors to sustain our bare-bones budget. Click on
</font><a href=3D"https://secure.iexposure.com/fpif.org/donate.cfm"=
eudora=3D"autourl"><font size=3D2=
color=3D"#0000FF"><u>https://secure.iexposure.com/fpif.org/donate.cfm</a></=
u></font><font size=3D2>
to support FPIF online, or for information about making contributions
over the phone or through the mail. If you respond to this donation
solicitation, please enter 'FPIF' in the "Special Offer Code"
field.<br>
<div align=3D"center">***** Thank you ******<br><br>
</font></div>
<font size=3D1>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<br><br>
Distributed by FPIF:=93A Think Tank Without Walls,=94 a joint program of
Interhemispheric Resource Center (IRC) and Institute for Policy Studies
(IPS).<br><br>
For more information, visit
</font><a href=3D"http://www.fpif.org/" eudora=3D"autourl"><font size=3D1=
color=3D"#0000FF"><u>www.fpif.org</a></u></font><font size=3D1>.
If you would like to add a name to the =93What=92s New At FPIF?=94 list, ple=
ase
email:
</font><font size=3D1=
color=3D"#0000FF"><u>communications@irc-online.org</u></font><font size=3D1=
>,
giving your area of interest. <br><br>
Also see our Progressive Response newsletter at:
</font><a href=3D"http://www.fpif.org/progresp/index.html"=
eudora=3D"autourl"><font size=3D1=
color=3D"#0000FF"><u>http://www.fpif.org/progresp/index.html</a><br><br>
</u></font><font=
size=3D1>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<br><br>
</font><font size=3D2><b>Interhemispheric Resource Center</b>=20
<b>(IRC)<br>
</b></font><font size=3D2 color=3D"#0000FF"><u><a=
href=3D"http://www.irc-online.org/"=
eudora=3D"autourl">http://www.irc-online.org/</a><br>
</u></font><font size=3D2>Siri D. Khalsa<br>
Outreach Coordinator<br>
Email:
</font><font size=3D2 color=3D"#0000FF"><u>communications@irc-online.org<br>
</u></font><font face=3D"Arial Narrow, Helvetica" size=3D2><b> <br>
</font></b></html>
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