Posted on 01/06/2006 2:22:51 PM PST by proud_yank
Americans should pay special attention to this week’s crisis between Russia and the Ukraine involving natural gas. It foreshadows what could happen here if we continue to cede control of our national energy policy to environmentalists.
Last year’s election of the outspokenly pro-Western Viktor Yushchenko as president of the Ukraine breached previously close ties between Russia and the Ukraine. Looking to make Yushchenko pay a political price and to make the Ukraine pay an economic price for favoring the West, Russian President Vladimir Putin attempted to exploit a dispute over prices between the two nations’ natural gas companies.
On Jan. 1, Russia stopped delivering gas supplies to the Ukraine, resulting in the Ukraine siphoning natural gas from Russian pipelines running through its territory intended for Europe. By the next day, Europeans claimed that their natural gas supplies had been reduced by as much as 50 percent and worried that the spat would cause heating bills to rise. Serbia introduced rationing of natural gas. Others countries reportedly considered switching to oil as an alternative fuel, causing oil prices to spike.
As the Russian-Ukrainian dispute illustrates, energy can be a potent political weapon – one that can have dramatic consequences even for innocent bystanders.
Why should we care?
Energy is also being wielded as a political weapon in the U.S. Like the sword of Damocles hanging over our economy, an energy crunch looms over our heads courtesy of environmental activists.
This column spotlighted environmentalists as our real energy problem last June. Six months and an energy crisis later, little has changed.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Some people aren't happy unless they're complaining.
Too bad that crowd won't hold their breath to stop releasing CO2!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.