Activist and author Antonia Juhasz spoke at Powell’s Books
(10/27/08). She is the author of the recent book “Tyranny of Oil: The World’s
Most Powerful Industry – And What We Must Do To Stop It.” (here) She was
engaging, articulate and thoughtful. She spoke about the profits and political
influence of the oil companies. Both enormous and second to no other industry.
She covers all the points of the two youtubes at the end of this post. Watch
them.
What she said that interested me the most was her view that the oil companies do not believe that the age of oil is going to end. They do not believe in “peak oil.” In her words, “the oil companies do not intend to become energy companies. They are not investing in renewables.” They intend to find ever more sources of oil (off-shore, sand tars, etc) and use the US military to secure access to oil around the world (Middle East, Africa). She has chapters in her books laying out these future scenarios (I’ve not read them).
I am surprised by the oil companies’ failure to plan for a future beyond oil (if it is true). Seems too foolish! I am not surprised that they would like the age of oil to continue so that they can gain all the profits possible. That they would manipulate our political system to do so comes as no surprise. What I wonder about, and what I asked Antonia about after her presentation, is what she thinks the oil companies think the rise of China and India mean for their future. Neither China nor India has oil reserves. Both countries are just beginning to develop automobile cultures. Will they both go down the road of gas-consuming cars? Or recognize it is a dead end and switch to electric cars or some renewable based power? If they go down the gas-consuming-car’s road, the age of oil will end much sooner and with much more turbulence.
If they go down the gas-consuming-car’s road, the age of oil will end much sooner and with much more turbulence.
Posted by: pandora | April 27, 2011 at 12:30 AM