BLOG TITLE

Robert Baer's new book

Posted October 19, 2008
By: Brad Meikle

Robert Baer, Author of Sleeping with the Devil and See No Evil(the basis for the movie Syriana) has written a must read on Iran.  It is relevant to Cleantech because it illumintes the politics behind the oil industry today. 

The whole point is that as a country we can not engage in an unwinnable war, while simultaneously supressing and means to changes our domestic demand patterns. The technology for hybrid or pure electric vehicles is mature, and the only thing stopping it is politics.

Certainly global warming is a driver of Cleantech, but the bigger driver is to not be reliant on the Middle East for oil, who control in total 55% of the current world's oil reserves.  If the US does not start to consume less oil then the conflict between the US and Iran will become ever more heightened.

The great thing about the US is the innovation that can occur if the channels are opened to enable it, but as things stand today the US lobbyist power stands with the Oil Industry. The US car makers are almost as bad, advertising the Volt but not shipping any. If the average MPG were to be 50 instead of 17 it would change the demand and pricing dynamics dramatically, and thus decrease the leverage that Iran has over the US.

Robert Baer was a CIA operative in the Middle East for 20 years, and having read countless books on this topic, I can tell you for sure he is the single best source of information and analysis on the current dynamics.  The unspoken truth is that Iran was at war with Israel from 1982 to 2000 and the battleground was Lebanon. Hezbollah currently runs the show there, Israel pulled out in defeat in 2000 and also in 2006.   Iran is planning to use the Shia based foundation for taking control of Iraq.  WIthout question they have asserted their power in this region since the fall of Iraq in 2003. Military strategists have long held the opinion that Iraq was the center chess piece in the middle east. That may be true to some extent, but by taking out Saddam the US strrengthened Iran's position, the Shia run Iraq and the US can not possibly assert the control that Saddam once did.

The US is probably the only country in the world that has been encouraged perpetually to consume as much energy as possible.  The energy industry has been deep rooted in politics since the Rockefeller empire came ot be.  For a while it helped the country by enabling a cheaper source of energy, but now it is impeding whats best for the nation as a whole.  

Categories:
General Interest

Permanent Link:

http://www.renewableanalytics.com/blog/2008/10/19/mustreadoniran.cfm

0 Comments So Far

You must log in to leave a comment