Representative Bartlett Confronts and Stumps Rumsfeld on Peak Oil
On March 10th, during the House hearing on the 2006 Defense budget, Rep. Roscoe Bartlett confronted Donald Rumsfeld on the subject of oil depletion. Yesterday, video of the hearing was made available on c-span's website; the specific exchange can be viewed by skipping ahead to 1:31:11.
Rep. Bartlett summarized the likelihood and affects of world oil production -- in the very near future or even right now -- reaching its peak. Bartlett described the research of current and former experts, such as M. King Hubbert, Colin Campbell, and many others who have studied oil discovery, production, and depletion at great lengths and who have been warning about the limits of population growth for a long time. Specifically, Bartlett asked Rumsfeld to put him in contact with whomever in the Administration was in charge of dealing with the problem.
Rumsfeld responded as if he had very little understanding of the subject. He quickly agreed to Mr. Bartlett's request, then, after a moment of odd silence in which he realized his response was too brief, Rumsfeld attempted to deflate the situation be explaining the basic characteristics of the market place. Overlooking every trend of oil discovery, production, and dependency, he attempted to downgrade the problem by assuring increased prices will lead to more discoveries and better conservation methods. Rep. Bartlett responded by explaining how the frequency of oil discoveries has been dramatically decreasing for a long time while oil dependency has been exponentially rising; and, he explained, despite the efforts the most powerful society in history, billions of dollars, and the most advanced technology, the trend has never been slowed.
Ironically, one of the people Rep. Bartlett is seeking contact with: investment banker Matthew Simmons -- a key advisor to the Bush Administration and a member of Vice President Cheney's 2001 Energy Task Force -- would have most likely said the same thing. Simmons believes peak production is currently at hand and that the unforeseen consequences will be devastating. The Energy Task Force of which Simmons was a member, also known as the National Energy Policy Development Group (NEPDG), was not only responsible for addressing energy depletion, it was their primary concern. Unfortunately, NEPDG documentation has been held illegally secret from Congress and the American people.
Furthermore, in 2000, Rumsfeld, Cheney, Wolfowitz, Armitage, Perle, and many other current Bush Administration officials, policy makers, and associates outlined a comprehensive strategy aimed at preserving America's global primacy -- primarily by sustaining access to resources through the establishment of a substantial overseas presence. The paper, entitled Rebuilding America's Defenses, was structured around an earlier draft written in 1992 by Cheney and Wolfowitz, entitled Defense Planning Guidance (DPG), which states: “In the Middle East and Southwest Asia, our overall objective is to remain the predominant outside power in the region and preserve U.S. and Western access to the region’s oil.” The updated 2000 version states: "Although the experience of the past eight years has modified our understanding of particular military requirements for carrying out such a strategy, the basic tenets of the DPG, in our judgment, remain sound." The paper even says that "the need for a substantial American force presence in the Gulf transcends the issue of the regime of Saddam Hussein” but "the unresolved conflict with Iraq provides the immediate justification" for meeting such a requirement.
Rep. Bartlett summarized the likelihood and affects of world oil production -- in the very near future or even right now -- reaching its peak. Bartlett described the research of current and former experts, such as M. King Hubbert, Colin Campbell, and many others who have studied oil discovery, production, and depletion at great lengths and who have been warning about the limits of population growth for a long time. Specifically, Bartlett asked Rumsfeld to put him in contact with whomever in the Administration was in charge of dealing with the problem.
Rumsfeld responded as if he had very little understanding of the subject. He quickly agreed to Mr. Bartlett's request, then, after a moment of odd silence in which he realized his response was too brief, Rumsfeld attempted to deflate the situation be explaining the basic characteristics of the market place. Overlooking every trend of oil discovery, production, and dependency, he attempted to downgrade the problem by assuring increased prices will lead to more discoveries and better conservation methods. Rep. Bartlett responded by explaining how the frequency of oil discoveries has been dramatically decreasing for a long time while oil dependency has been exponentially rising; and, he explained, despite the efforts the most powerful society in history, billions of dollars, and the most advanced technology, the trend has never been slowed.
Ironically, one of the people Rep. Bartlett is seeking contact with: investment banker Matthew Simmons -- a key advisor to the Bush Administration and a member of Vice President Cheney's 2001 Energy Task Force -- would have most likely said the same thing. Simmons believes peak production is currently at hand and that the unforeseen consequences will be devastating. The Energy Task Force of which Simmons was a member, also known as the National Energy Policy Development Group (NEPDG), was not only responsible for addressing energy depletion, it was their primary concern. Unfortunately, NEPDG documentation has been held illegally secret from Congress and the American people.
Furthermore, in 2000, Rumsfeld, Cheney, Wolfowitz, Armitage, Perle, and many other current Bush Administration officials, policy makers, and associates outlined a comprehensive strategy aimed at preserving America's global primacy -- primarily by sustaining access to resources through the establishment of a substantial overseas presence. The paper, entitled Rebuilding America's Defenses, was structured around an earlier draft written in 1992 by Cheney and Wolfowitz, entitled Defense Planning Guidance (DPG), which states: “In the Middle East and Southwest Asia, our overall objective is to remain the predominant outside power in the region and preserve U.S. and Western access to the region’s oil.” The updated 2000 version states: "Although the experience of the past eight years has modified our understanding of particular military requirements for carrying out such a strategy, the basic tenets of the DPG, in our judgment, remain sound." The paper even says that "the need for a substantial American force presence in the Gulf transcends the issue of the regime of Saddam Hussein” but "the unresolved conflict with Iraq provides the immediate justification" for meeting such a requirement.
posted by Devlin Buckley at 8:13 PM
1 Comments:
Do you realize the FAA tracked Flight 11 from the moment of takeover to the moment of impact? Are you aware that the White House tracked Flight 77 for the final 50 miles but didn't scramble aircraft until after the Pentagon was hit? Of course not, you haven't studied the subject.
Fairly shortly, I will address all this in a MAJOR update.
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