Scraping the bottom of the Barrel

10 days ago in Saudi Arabia, the oil city of Khobar was attacked by 'Al-Qaida'. Fears that this is the start of a concerted campaign to disrupt oil supplies and damage the US economy had an immediate impact on the price of the barrel which reached a record high in the States.

The British chancellor, Gordon Brown says that it is crucial that OPEC act now to keep oil prices down and the world economy stable. Loyola de Palacio, EU Commissioner also called on OPEC to increase production, dubiously claiming that her thoughts are with poor countries that will suffer as a result of the high prices. While Western governments put pressure on OPEC to pump out more and more oil, OPEC point out that they are producing as much as they ever were and in some cases countries are producing well above their national quotas. The high prices, they say, are due to speculation on the futures markets in Europe. Big companies and countries buy up oil, anticipating further price rises due to the turbulent situation in the Middle East. The effect of this is to push prices through the roof. So to summarise the story, we invaded the Middle East causing massive destruction and resentment, the price of oil rose, but we still need more oil and buy loads in case the price goes up more, the price does go up a lot more due to the increasing demand and we blame the Middle East.

Meanwhile, fuel protestors are again threatening to take to the streets (or drive around in their cars shaking their fists) and again the issue of climate change hardly gets a mention. As climate change campaigning group Rising Tide point out the problem is not that we will run out of oil, it is that oil is causing massive climate change. As Friends of The Earth put it “Fears about rising oil prices demonstrate the need for a massive investment in energy efficiency and alternatives to oil, such as bio fuels. Burning oil is a major contributor to global climate change”.

*On June 16 a street party is organised against BP sponsoring the National Portrait Gallery in London. Meet 4 pm at St James Square in London. 07969 786770.
*15-21 June ‘An Exhibition of Resistance to BP and Big Oil’. 07969 786770.
London rising tide site

‘Can renewable energy systems give us what we need or do we face a serious energy shortage over the next fifty years?’ Saturday 19th June.11am-4pm. Canterbury Room 4, Lampeter University 01558 685353. Organised by Earth Cymru Network

*There’s a Cambridge Forum on Climate change on June 15th @ CB1 Cafe, 32 Mill Rd, Cambridge 8-10pm. Speakers include Dr David Vaughan of British Antarctic Survey who witnessed first-hand the break-up of the Larsen B ice shelf and Dr Johnathan Koehler, of the Applied Economics department who will talk about renewable energy. There will be time for questions and discussion - plus plenty of suggestions for practical and effective action.

*From 19th-21st November, the Centre for Alternative Technology will be running a brand new course “Make your own Bio-diesel”. The course will enable you to produce your own cheap bio-diesel, without the need for alterations to your engine. 01654 705957

Oil Be Rich

The World Bank’s commitment to “the vision of poverty reduction” has become even more of joke than it already is. A new report by the Sustainable Energy and Economy Network shows that the World Bank investment in oil projects has done nothing to alleviate poverty and has actually pumped more money into Halliburton, one of the world’s largest providers to the oil and gas industries.

Last December the Bank’s very own Extractative Industries Review recommended that its investment in oil projects be phased out by 2008. “82% of all oil projects the bank has invested in (since 1992) are primarily designed for the export of oil back to the USA, Western Europe, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Japan.” And guess what, it’s Halliburton who heads the list of corporate beneficiaries!

The report found that Halliburton and friends (who including Shell, Chevron Texaco & BP) would lose out if the Bank stopped investing in oil: “The World Bank was unable to produce a single example where its support for oil had alleviated poverty”.

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