Seven

Bobby Schneider Kim Fortun Oil Politics Film Annotation #7: Blood and Oil   America is a nation with one of the most diverse cultures on Earth. Throughout history, two specific activities have helped to make the United States become what it is today: war and the oil industry. Though both have undoubtedly led to positive outcomes, such as American freedom and advancements in transportation, they have caused their fair share of problems as well. However, could it be possible that the two activities have merged into one immense problematic issue? In a 2008 documentary directed by Jeremy Earp, entitled __Blood and Oil__, the connection between America’s greed for oil and war in the Middle East is revealed. This media makes it clear that the time has come for America to stop and reconsider its behavior. While oil is a valuable asset to this country, is the energy that it can provide worth the American lives and suffering that it costs?   As with all natural resources, oil has numerous stakeholders and social actors who depend on its continuous extraction and sale. While the obvious stakeholders are oil companies, heating companies, transportation companies, and travel agencies (who need oil-powered transportation to make travel possible), other stakeholders which may not be thought of as often are the economies of oil-exporting nations. Many countries, especially those in the Middle East, rely heavily on the production and sale of oil to generate revenue and income. American citizens, while needing oil to produce makeup, clothes, medicines, and various other products, also rely on the resource to help protect the nation, which is where this film in particular comes into play. Oil, which seems to be the reasoning behind recent wars, is also what helps to fuel these wars. Forms of transportation in combat, such as fighter jets, warships, tanks, armored vehicles, and submarines all need oil to be built, as well as to function once complete. In philosophy, there is a concept known as circular reasoning in which one tries to support a claim by using that same claim as support. In a sense, because oil is being used to fight a battle for more oil, oil has caused this circular pattern of behavior that could very well never end, at least not until oil runs out anyway.   As the title of this film declares, the world has become so dependent on oil that mankind is willing to do just about anything in order to acquire it, but just how dependent are we? In the latter half of the 1800’s the Age of Petroleum began and with it began what many may call the worst obsession in American history. As oil gradually became “central to the American way of life,” its involvement in industry became continuously more expansive. Though representing only 5% of the world population, Americans use an average of 20 million barrels every day, roughly one-fourth of the world’s daily oil consumption. Oil is used to create pesticides and fertilizers for our agriculture, powers 98% of our transportation systems, and is necessary for the production of millions of goods including milk cartons, plastic wrappers, lubrications, cosmetics, and paints. One of the biggest aspects of American life affected by oil was of course the automobile industry which signified “the American dream of freedom on wheels” and as transportation grew, so did the American demand for oil and gasoline. The black gold not only controls the economy and culture of the United States, but the nation’s safety as well. Being “a decisive factor in America’s victory in World War Two,” having used one-third of its own reserves, American oil allowed the country to build and fuel vast amounts of fighter jets and other war vehicles, not to mention provide the allied forces with six out of the total seven billion barrels used throughout the war’s extent. Clearly, oil, especially from the Persian Gulf region, is “so essential to American security and well-being that we’re willing to do anything necessary to protect it,” and therein lies the problem.   Though for years the American people have needed oil to survive, in recent years it seems as if oil is only leading to mankind’s demise. In the 1940’s the United States was self-sufficient and oil was an entirely domestic source. Unfortunately, as the nation’s demand for the resource grew exponentially, production began decreasing and by the 1990’s America was relying on foreign imports for 50% of its oil supply. It is expected that by 2025 the United States will acquire over two-thirds of its oil from overseas, crippling our sense of independence and power. “For the United States, oil was once a source of power,” but quickly “it has become a sign of weakness.” For instance, since Franklin D. Roosevelt was in office, every president has been sure to renew the agreement with Saudi Arabia in which the U.S. promises to provide protection for the royal family in exchange for the right to develop the country’s oil, living by the saying that “our house is your house.” Sounds wrong? Well, it is. In a region where women cannot vote, work, or even receive medical treatment without permission from their husbands, America has managed to “conspicuously ignore the total lack of democracy in Saudi Arabia year after year after year.” When considering that there have been numerous military missions in a nation with an absolute Monarch, “there can be no other explanation for that other than the fact that the royal family guarantees our [America’s] access to Saudi Arabian oil.” When Iraqi and Iranian forces invaded Kuwait, The United States simply put American flags on Kuwaiti oil tankers, thus giving America the right, even legal obligation, to protect those ships. “There was no other motive for this. There was no freedom at stake, no democracy at stake, no terrorism at stake. It was simply to keep the oil lanes open.” Since Americans did not favor war for oil, President George Bush, who initially admitted the war was for oil, began making statements such as “I’m deeply concerned about Saddam’s efforts to acquire nuclear weapons,” “Saddam Hussein systematically raped, pillaged, and plundered a tiny nation,” and that Saddam was the totalitarianism of “Hitler revisited.” Even after these wars ended, America broke its agreement to leave Saudi Arabia, claiming that troops // had // to remain “to enforce [a] containment strategy,” which angered Saudi Arabian Osama Bin Laden, thus leading to his aggression toward America. His growing hostility has led to numerous incidents including the bombing of American Embassies and the attacks of the World Trade Centers. The sad truth is that “we have in fact provided the fuel for Middle Eastern terrorism.” Overtime, “our military policy and our energy policy have become intertwined; they became one in the same,” which, aside from being extremely problematic, is nothing short of “immoral and unpatriotic.”   Despite how obvious it has become that oil causes trouble, the government still believes that the solution to our oil problem, rather than looking for alternative energies, is to find even more oil. Initially plans were made to drill both offshore and in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, but people were too optimistic and failed to realize that America would never again be self-sufficient when it comes to oil. The following are a few quotes which make the need for change quite evident:  The Department of Energy noted: “The best estimates are that ANWR is capable of producing 876,000 barrels of oil a day. Even at this peak rate, drilling in ANWR would decrease our reliance on foreign oil by just three percent.” <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">George W. Bush stated that “the future is achievable if we make the right choices now. But if we fail to act, this great country could face a darker future, a future that is unfortunately being previewed in rising prices at the gas pump and rolling blackouts in the great state of California.” <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The Secretary of Energy warned that “America faces a major energy supply crisis over the next two decades. The failure to meet this challenge will threaten our nation’s economic prosperity, it will compromise our national security, and literally alter the way we live our lives.” <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> These three quotes portray the same message: oil is becoming scarce and, as it becomes increasingly scarce, America is becoming more dependent on the foreign nations that provide the resource, making the United States not only vulnerable, but also marionette-like in that we are willing to obey foreign orders for energy, which is simply not acceptable. In order to avoid this “darker future” and “meet this challenge,” America has to shift away from oil as soon as possible and invest more time, money, and effort into developing alternative, more sustainable sources of power. Although “there are no short-term fixes,” rather than being the scavenger nation that stays behind and begs for oil from other countries, America needs to become a green nation on the forefront of eco-friendly technologies and become self-sustaining once more; at this point it is the only way in which Americans can live happy, healthy, and safe lives both now and for years to come. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> This documentary was full of many interesting arguments and facts, but one event and its consequences have impacted my thoughts the greatest. Osama Bin Laden declared: “The biggest reason for our enemies’ control over our land is to steal our oil, so give everything you can to stop the greatest theft of oil in history. . . for that will be the death of them.” Bin Laden made this statement in response to the “repudiation of the United States’ promise” to leave Saudi Arabia after their work was done. The American government created reasons to maintain a permanent presence in the region to ensure a flow of oil, which angered Bin Laden, a Saudi himself. A man who once worked in unison with America turned against the country without thinking twice and sadly, it seems that America has no one to blame but itself. Though terrorism is of course inhumane and wrong, I can understand where Bin Laden’s aggression has derived from. If the United States had backed off as promised, it is quite possible that many terrorist attacks, including those on September eleventh, could have been avoided. In reality, it is our own fault that these events are occurring and it should help people to realize that oil is literally killing us one step at a time, which is why the American Age of Oil must come to a close immediately. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> While there was a surplus of information that was not compelling or believable in this film, the most unpersuasive, as well as dishonestly rude, parts of this film were the ways in which past presidents have lied about their reasoning for war when everyone already knew the cause was oil. Early on, George Bush blatantly said, “our jobs, our way of life, our own freedom, and the freedom of friendly countries around the world would all suffer if control of the world’s great oil reserves fell into the hands of that one man, Saddam Hussein.” Upon hearing this, the American people resented the war, which led Bush to say, “some people never get the word, the fight isn’t about oil,” claiming that it was suddenly due to a fear of nuclear weapons and fights for freedom. In the past, President Truman had also conveniently changed his mind as to why America needed to get involved in war, stating that there was “a vast Soviet conspiracy against free peoples around the world” and “if we falter in our leadership, we may endanger the peace of the world and we shall surely endanger the welfare of this nation.” This same ideology has spread to Africa as well. Rather than simply admitting the United States covets African oil, Bush has mentioned that America needs to become involved in Africa in order to help its economy, education system, and promote freedom and democracy. An interesting addition to this is that in 2001, Dick Cheney’s Energy Report openly stating that “Africa is expected to be one of the fastest growing sources of oil and gas for the American market.” As many Americans believe, it is “unconscionable to sacrifice the lives of American soldiers for oil” and military force should only be utilized “when high principle is at stake, not economic interests.” Lying, using military power without just cause, and willingly putting innocent lives at risk for something as basic as oil is not only absurd, but also demonstrates extremely poor leadership skills on behalf of the American government. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Focusing on exposing the truth about the connection between war and oil, this film did not mention any detailed corrective action, yet what needs to be done is obvious. First and foremost the American government needs to start thinking outside the box and stop obsessing over oil when they know very well that our current problems will only get worse if they do not change their ways. According to the National Defense Council Foundation, in 2007 the United States spent $137 billion on “oil-related defense measures,” which was more than seventy times the amount set aside to invest in alternative energy sources that same year. Imagine what advances could be made in alternative energy research and development if the government were to invest even half of that amount of oil money into going green! Rather than becoming dependent on foreign nations for nearly 70% of our energy in 2025, how about America becomes entirely self-sustaining through eco-friendly technologies by 2025? In addition to reducing our foreign dependency, going green will also benefit the economy, the environment, our wallets, and our health and safety not only now, but for generations to come as well. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> After watching this movie, I wanted to further investigate how much money is actually spent on oil and “oil wars” and also see what President Obama has been doing to help break this oil trend and work toward a green future. In an article from The Institute for the Analysis of Global Security (IAGS), entitled “How much are we paying for a gallon of gas?” the painful facts about the oil market are revealed. The opening paragraph states the illusion that many Americans have believed: while the signs say the price of oil is $2.50 or $3.00, it is actually much, much more. By providing tax breaks, subsidies, and “government protection programs worth billions of dollars annually,” the federal government thinks it will allow all American oil companies to “compete with international producers” and ensure low-price gasoline (and based on last summer’s prices, we all know how well that plan is working) (page 1). Over the past three decades, oil-related issues such as increased oil prices, supply disruptions, and loss of wealth hit the American government with a bill exceeding $7 trillion, which is “more than the cumulative cost of all of the wars fought by the U.S. since the Revolutionary War” (page 1). In this same time span, $1.16 trillion has been passed to foreign nations for our oil supply, and, according the Department of Energy, 27,000 jobs are lost for every $1 // billion //(not trillion) in trade deficit. Costing about $50 billion annually just to protect with military power, the importation of the resource makes up nearly “one-third of the total U.S. deficit,” which clearly makes this black gold market “a major contributor to unemployment” (page 1). Furthermore, let’s not forget the cost of larger wars as well, including the Gulf War from 1990-1991 and the Iraq War in 2003, the latter of which had a price tag of nearly $200 billion, as opposed to the Gulf War, which cost just $80 billion for the entire “international community” (page 1). Due to the United States’ continuous presence in the Persian Gulf region, the Al-Qaeda attacks on the World Trade Center carried the message that “the ‘infidel armies’ [America]” simply had to go and until the United States leaves the Middle East for good, “terrorism and instability” will without a doubt continue, perhaps more severe than ever before (page 1, 2). Why deal with “wars, terrorism, and environmental degradation” that is associated with oil when we could move toward green technologies that are becoming cheaper, more widespread, and could create new jobs for the people that were unemployed by the oil trade deficit? It is time to make alternative energy “our top national security and economic priority” in order to provide a “cleaner, safer, and less economically destructive” future (page 2). <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> In a section on the White House website, called “Energy & Environment,” the eco-friendly efforts and green thinking of President Obama is discussed. During his speech on June 15, 2010, Obama made it clear that he supports green energy stating that “. . . the transition to clean energy has the potential to grow our economy and create millions of jobs. . . [but] only if we seize the moment. And only if we rally together and act as one nation. . . (page 1).” The government is working toward creating “. . . comprehensive energy and climate legislation to protect our nation from the serious economic and strategic risks. . .” that accompany foreign dependency on oil. There have already been investments made for a green future through the Recovery Act and developments have been made, or at least hope to be made, in clean technologies, high-speed railroads, electric grids, energy-efficient buildings and homes, and better car batteries, which represent the “industries of the future” (page 1). “The nation that harnesses the power of clean, renewable energy will be the nation that leads the 21st century” and so far Obama seems to be working toward making America that leading nation. When it comes to the economy, President Obama has already made efforts in efficiency standards for vehicles and appliances in the home, and long-term sustainability through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which provided over $80 billion in green investments (page 1). To help reduce climate change and the effects of Global Warming “both domestically and internationally,” Obama has also taken steps in monitoring greenhouse gas emissions, incorporating a scientific understanding of the changing world into America’s education, and numerous countries are working together to reduce Hydrofluorcarbons, in addition to putting an end to fossil fuel subsidies (page 2). Furthermore, with hopes of protecting the environment, the Obama Administration is working harder than ever to “tackle our biggest environmental challenges,” having already established the Interagency Task Force on Ocean Policy, the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009, the Louisiana-Mississippi Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Working Group, and the National Environmental Policy Act. These legislative developments, as well as many more, are helping to clean up any existing environmental messes and to conserve/preserve the safety and quality of America’s land, air, and oceans that both mankind and wildlife depend upon for continued survival (page 2, 3). <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> The oil industry, both domestic and overseas, has done nothing more than fuel unending chaos in the United States and throughout other nations around the globe. Obama has said: “Now is the moment for this generation to embark on a national mission to unleash American innovation and seize control of our own destiny,” so why wait any longer? America was built on a foundation of independence and innovation and it is up to us to continue that trend and work to ensure that the United States will be a safe, clean, green, and prosperous nation today, tomorrow, and for many years to come. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Works Cited <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Earp, Jeremy. __Blood and Oil__. Perf. Osama Bin Laden, George Bush, George W. Bush, Jimmy <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Carter, Dick Cheney (all as themselves in archive footage). Media Education Foundation, <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> 2008. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Energy & Environment.” __The White House__. < [|http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/energy-and-] <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"> [| environment]  <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">>. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“How much are we paying for a gallon of gas?” __The Institute for the Analysis of Global Security__. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Last Modified 2006. < <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">[] <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">>.