The Probable Fate of Saudi Arabia
The following is in response to firstashore; the quote is from his livejournal. You should read it, he's a cool guy! Anyway, I thought I should share this with my other LJ Friends ...
I would LOVE to see Underground Coal Gasification (UCG) and Coal-to-Liquids (CTL) tech start up and make Saudi's oil redundant. Especially since I have reason to believe they're artifically inflating their reserves by meddling with the pressure in their oil fields.
I wouldn't put it past the Saudis to have done dirty tricks to encourage America's oil dependence. Don't you find it a bit odd how rapidly our sentiments turned anti-nuclear in the 1970's, after an accident (Three-Mile Island) in which nobody died? Or the extreme opposition to any nuclear waste dump site? I wouldn't be surprised if the Saudis were siphoning large sums of money into anti-nuclear politicians and environmental groups.
Likewise, did you notice how the US government cut funding for fusion power research during the 1980's? This was strange, given our obvious strategic dependence on oil, and the Soviet threat to the Mideast. We also did other odd things, like ceasing to construct atomic-powered cruisers (when the "cruiser" naval role was practically designed for nuclear power). And, of course, there was until recently almost no funding for space-based Solar Power Satellite research.
Fortunately, the Saudi comeuppance is inevitable. The Saudis are rich, but not rich enough to control the energy policies of the whole world. The Canadians, French and Japanese have all pioneered commercially-valuable fields of reactor research (the CANDU, the ITER, and the Sony micro-pile), which make it practically certain that the Age of Oil is beginning to end. What's even more emotionally satisfying is that the Saudi arrogance and incompetence practically ensures that, within a century, they will be very poor indeed.
The Saudi fall is likely to be dramatic. I predict that the Saudi monarchy will be overthrown by an Islamic Repubic, followed by an American invasion and conquest of Arabia. By that time, we should be ticked off enough by other Terrorist actions that we will keep the oil fields, draining them dry while the suddenly-impoverished Saudis watch in horror. By the time we leave, the price of oil will have fallen to the point that the Saudis can do little with the dregs, dooming them to a future of regretting their lost opportunities.
And it couldn't happen to a nicer country! :)
I would LOVE to see Underground Coal Gasification (UCG) and Coal-to-Liquids (CTL) tech start up and make Saudi's oil redundant. Especially since I have reason to believe they're artifically inflating their reserves by meddling with the pressure in their oil fields.
I wouldn't put it past the Saudis to have done dirty tricks to encourage America's oil dependence. Don't you find it a bit odd how rapidly our sentiments turned anti-nuclear in the 1970's, after an accident (Three-Mile Island) in which nobody died? Or the extreme opposition to any nuclear waste dump site? I wouldn't be surprised if the Saudis were siphoning large sums of money into anti-nuclear politicians and environmental groups.
Likewise, did you notice how the US government cut funding for fusion power research during the 1980's? This was strange, given our obvious strategic dependence on oil, and the Soviet threat to the Mideast. We also did other odd things, like ceasing to construct atomic-powered cruisers (when the "cruiser" naval role was practically designed for nuclear power). And, of course, there was until recently almost no funding for space-based Solar Power Satellite research.
Fortunately, the Saudi comeuppance is inevitable. The Saudis are rich, but not rich enough to control the energy policies of the whole world. The Canadians, French and Japanese have all pioneered commercially-valuable fields of reactor research (the CANDU, the ITER, and the Sony micro-pile), which make it practically certain that the Age of Oil is beginning to end. What's even more emotionally satisfying is that the Saudi arrogance and incompetence practically ensures that, within a century, they will be very poor indeed.
The Saudi fall is likely to be dramatic. I predict that the Saudi monarchy will be overthrown by an Islamic Repubic, followed by an American invasion and conquest of Arabia. By that time, we should be ticked off enough by other Terrorist actions that we will keep the oil fields, draining them dry while the suddenly-impoverished Saudis watch in horror. By the time we leave, the price of oil will have fallen to the point that the Saudis can do little with the dregs, dooming them to a future of regretting their lost opportunities.
And it couldn't happen to a nicer country! :)