Petrotyranny

For those of us who have been watching the unfolding drama involving the petrochemical industry in which giant conglomerates like Enron have shown their cupidity and lack of public concern, the revelations contained in ?Petrotyranny? come as no great surprise. If anything, one finds the arguments made in the book too conservative, given the events of the past several months. Yet this wonderful primer on the nature of the oil and gas beast was written without the kinds of educational experience we have all been subjected to in the last year, and so was operating based on intensive research and a deep scholarly curiosity on the part of author John Bacher. Funded in part by a Canadian organization called ?Science For Peace?, this book represents the collective concerns of a wide range of scientists, scholars and concerned citizens who want a greater degree of public equity, honor, and honesty about the world?s natural resources, the way they are distributed, and aiming for a more viable and environmentally sustainable future.In ?Petrotyranny? the author lays bare the facts surrounding the current state of the world oil industry, revealing for the first time the degree to which ownership and access to the world?s known oil reserves are correlated to unrepresentative forms of government, and the degree to which transnational oil corporations have aided, abetted, and succored such political oligarchies. Indeed, the degree to which the two seem to co-exist and thrive seems to indicate that the oil corporations have had an active hand in perpetuating the situation. In fact, Bacher claims, the amount of oil reserves found in such countries ruled through non-democratic and unrepresentative means is more than six times the reserves found in more democratically aligned countries. The discussion includes a frank and intriguing consideration of what this state of affairs means for all of us, both those of us living in relatively privileged societies as well as the denizens of those countries in which there is much oil related wealth yet little positive economic benefit for the citizenry at large. He also thoughtfully explores the increasing likelihood for more frequent occurrences of regional conflict based on the nature of oil ownership, as both demand for the products increases and the known levels of extractable oil reserves continues to diminish. Indeed, the current set of geo-political circumstances both within the Middle East and elsewhere bear credence to this line of argument, as we ready ourselves for yet another potential oil-related conflict against Iraq. Given all this, anyone believing this saber-rattling among the members of the Bush administration strictly about Iraq?s potential threat to the region as a terrorist country is incredibly naïve, especially given the extensive connections among present members of that administration and the oil industry. Bacher?s approach is cautiously academic, and he seems to have great faith in the abilit