Why is Our Oil Under Their Sand?

Hannibal Gaddafi has denied claims he assaulted two of his staff in Switzerland

Interesting story in the news today:

Libya's state shipping company says it has halted oil shipments to Switzerland in protest at the brief arrest of leader Muammar Gaddafi's youngest son.

It threatened further action if the Swiss did not apologise for the arrest.

Geneva police held Hannibal Gaddafi for two days after he and his pregnant wife allegedly hit two of their staff.

So because of our dependency on foreign oil, we can have our supply completely denied literally overnight if we piss certain people off (and you probably know how well we've been pissing people off over the last five years).

Of course those who love oil profits and/or their SUV's over the environment can equally point to this as a good reason to carve up Alaska and lay pipeline through protected forest land. Also in the news is a story of an estimated 90 billion barrels of undiscovered but technically recoverable oil — three years of world consumption — above the Arctic Circle. The story went on to state the oil might be easier to get now because of the milting ice (the irony).

But why not relieve ourselves from this ball and chain of non-renewable resources and take up Noble Peace Prize and Academy Award-winner Al Gore's challenge “to commit to producing 100 percent of our electricity from renewable energy and truly clean carbon-free sources within 10 years." Yes, getting up to speed with sun, wind and other renewable energy sources will take years but so will building oil rigs and pipe lines, and the black gold we pull out of the ground with that investment is limited.

Caribou migration effected by Alaskan oil pipeline

"We're borrowing money from China to buy oil from the Persian Gulf to burn it in ways that destroy the planet. Every bit of that's got to change.Today I challenge our nation to commit to producing 100 percent of our electricity from renewable energy and truly clean carbon-free sources within 10 years."
- Nobel Peace Prize and Academy Award-winner Al Gore, Thursday, July 17, 2008