By Zachary Shahan •
January 15, 2010
We know that dozens of billions of US dollars go to imported oil every month (nearly $1 billion a day). We know that some of that must go to unstable, unsafe countries.
A new report by the Center for American Progress titled “Oil Dependence is a Dangerous Habit” shows exactly how much oil we are getting from several such countries, and the results leave you wondering how safe we actually are and how serious we are about fighting terrorism and hostile political regimes.
The ironic thing to me, is that the companies so gung-ho about being patriotic and so critical of almost all clean energy efforts are the same companies who are giving so much money (see the graphs below) to these unstable countries.
Ten of the countries who we import a lot of oil from are also on the State Department’s Travel Warning list: Algeria, Chad, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iraq, Mauritania, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Syria.
Some leading importers may not be on the prestigious Travel Warning list, but show very anti-American foreign and energy policies as well.
Venezuela, one of our top five oil providers, is quite anti-American, if this Washington Post article is any indications of how the country thinks of us.
By Zachary Shahan •
October 19, 2009
That is correct — not million but billion, not in one year but in one month! That is how much the US spent on imported oil in September 2009.
For those concerned about the US economy or national security risks, T. Boone Pickens and data from the US Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) show us that foreign oil imports should be at the top of our list. We rely very heavily on foreign oil and send a good chunk of our money to other countries to supply us with that oil — $25 billion last month alone!
Take a closer look.
Senators Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) have sponsored the NAT GAS Act. This bill is aimed at giving natural gas the push it needs to become part of the cure for America’s oil addiction. Senator Reid (D-Nevada) is also an original co-sponsor.
“Each day, our nation consumes about 21 million barrels of oil- more than 25 percent of the world’s oil supply,” Reid said. And most of that oil comes from foreign soil. “With only 3 percent of the world’s oil reserves, we cannot produce our way to a safe and secure energy future,” Reid continued.
The new legislation would promote the use of natural gas over traditional oil by using tax credits. This legislation would, in effect, be an extension of the CLEAR Act - encouraging the growth of natural-gas infrastructures to go along with the current boom in hybrid-electric vehicles.
By Lisa Wojnovich •
February 28, 2009
Did you know that the Rocky Mountains contain more oil than Saudi Arabia? Most people don’t. The problem is that, unlike the easily accessed and processed oceans of liquid oil under Middle Eastern sands, the Rocky Mountains’ petroleum is found in rocks called oil shale. Oil shale, which must be mined, is a type of sedimentary rock that releases oil when heated in specific types of chemical processes. The problem, according to environmental groups, is that producing energy from oil [...]
By Ariel Schwartz •
February 20, 2009
Biofuels may have hit an unexpected roadblock with a pronouncement by Sheik Mohamed al-Najimi of the Saudi Islamic Jurisprudence Academy that the fuel may be prohibited by Islam. According to al-Najimi, the prophet Muhammad prohibited the buying, selling, transporting, drinking, and manufacturing of alcohol - including the ethyl alcohol present in ethanol.
By Mridul Chadha •
February 15, 2009
Saudi oil minister feels that renewable energy systems are not yet ready to replace the fossil fuels and that our “overly optimistic expectations” from renewable energy sources could lead to a “nightmare scenario” in the energy sector.
With several new GO blogs launching in March, a few of sustainablog’s regulars moved on to other posting assignments. We were fortunate that a number of friends, such as the folks at Life Goggles, Environmental Defense Fund, and Eco-Libris, did admirable jobs in filling the gap. Additionally, we were pleased to republish several posts from the University of Kansas’ “Media and the Environment” course blog.
The original content we did publish was great stuff, of course. Take a look below, and see a few of the goodies from March (and not a single post on green beer!).
March 2008
By Jennifer Lance •
November 18, 2008
The Sirius Star, an oil tanker with the capacity to carry two million barrels and longer than three football fields, was seized by Somali pirates off the coast of East Africa.
This high tech tanker, staffed by only 25 crew members and owned by Saudi Aramco, was headed south toward the Cape of Good Hope on its way to North America when it was hijacked. [...]
By Max Lindberg •
June 18, 2008
Step Right Up And Be Amazed
It struck me today that our fearless leaders, would-be’s, and corporate giants seem to think we’re all a bunch of rubes gathered outside a carnival sideshow, leaning on the barker’s every word.
Urging Congress to lift its ban on offshore oil and gas drilling, our fearless leader, you know, President Bush, told lawmakers, “There is no excuse for delay“.
It got worse, “Families across the country are looking to Washington for a response.” Gimme a break.
Saudi Arabia makes more than 10 million barrels of oil a day, but it may be turning an eye on a cleaner, brighter prospect: solar power.
Oil minister Ali al-Nuaimi told French media that the oil-rich nation is researching how it can become a center for solar energy research and eventually become a “major megawatt” exporter in the next 30-50 years. He also said that Saudi Arabia is ready to invest in carbon [...]
By Noelle dEstries •
August 9, 2007
Here’s some quick links for you this fine Thursday morning…
• Farmer wrecks three cop cars and evades capture for five hours after attacking with a muck spreader. He was mad they were trying to confiscate his tractor.
• Nice job humanity- the Yangtze river dolphin is extinct.
• Al Gore points out Exxon’s work on climate change disinformation campaigns. Pure evil.
• Is this a surprise to anyone? Kids in Saudi Arabia aren’t getting much information about Global Warming in school.
• 20% of Australian kids are fat on their first day of school.
• Toyota is delaying the launch of new high-mileage hybrids for a year or two due to safety concerns.
• Green Myth-Busting: Occam’s Razor, or the idea that our current climate change is part of a natural cycle.
