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...These scenarios unfolded in a simulated oil shock wave held Thursday in Washington. Two former CIA directors and several other former top policy-makers participated to draw attention to America's need to reduce its dependence on oil, especially foreign oil. The scenario is intended to show how vulnerable the U.S. and world economies are because of dependence on oil from places where political instability threatens orderly production and distribution. This year the world is consuming about 84 million barrels of oil a day. America alone guzzles about 20.8 million barrels a day. Experts think oil-producing nations have only 1.5 million barrels...

The United States consumes a quarter of the world’s oil, compared to 8% for China. Even with high Chinese growth expected in coming years, the world will not run out of oil anytime soon. Over a trillion barrels of proven reserves exist, and more is likely to be found. But two-thirds of those proven reserves are in the Persian Gulf, and are thus vulnerable to disruption.In the past, rising prices had a strong effect on US oil consumption. Since the price spikes of the 1970’s, US oil consumption per dollar of GDP has fallen by half, which also reflects the...

Of snake oil and snake oil producers there is no end; and modern America has its own types. Fortunately, philosopher Christina Hoff Sommers and her co-author Dr. Sally Satel, a psychiatrist, are on the lookout for America's Dr. Knocks (or should we say Dr. Kooks) and warn us about them in their smart, straight-shooting new book, "One Nation Under Therapy: How the Helping Culture is Eroding Self-Reliance." The cover of "One Nation Under Therapy" shows an analytic couch covered in red, white, and blue. The inner contradiction expressed in this symbol is explored in the book but requires some elaboration....

Over the past couple of years, evangelicals have taken an increased interest in the environment. You may have read about some of the meetings that have been held recently in Washington. This is a good thing, because evangelicals have often forgotten that we have a stewardship responsibility for all of God’s creation. That means the air we breathe, the water we drink, the wilderness areas we all enjoy. I applaud some of the evangelical leaders who have been pricking our consciences—and some who have been setting good examples by driving fuel-efficient vehicles. But evangelicals need to remember that we are...

Over the past several years, the Senate has stymied Bush efforts to pass an energy plan that includes allowing oil development on a 1.5 million-acre coastal strip of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge because Republicans have been unable to muster the 60 votes needed to overcome a Democratic-led filibuster. However, a maneuver to avoid a filibuster is now being pursued that will likely be implemented in the next few weeks. Budget Committee Chairman Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) said Tuesday it was reasonable to assume ANWR would be part of the budget measure, which is not subject to filibuster. A small group...

Gal Luft is executive director of the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security in Washington, D.C. He is a specialist on strategic issues and energy policy with a PhD in strategic studies from Johns Hopkins University. A former lieutenant colonel in the Israel Defense Forces, his writings have appeared in Commentary, Foreign Affairs, the Los Angeles Times, Middle East Review of International Affairs, the Washington Post and Wall Street Journal. Mr. Luft addressed the Middle East Forum in Philadelphia on October 27, 2004. Introduction In both World War Two and the Cold War, the side best deploying scientific...

The FAIRTAX: A TROJAN HORSE FOR AMERICA? By Claire Wolfe & Aaron Zelman You do not examine legislation in the light of the benefits it will convey if properly administered, but in the light of the wrongs it would do and the harms it would cause if improperly administered. -- Lyndon Baines Johnson, U.S. President “Abolish the IRS!” So goes the cry. And who could disagree? The income tax is unAmerican in the most profound way, punishing people for being successful. The tax code is vast and incomprehensible. The agency that enforces it is universally loathed. Yes, let's abolish...

At roughly $50 a barrel, the cost of oil has almost doubled in recent months, endangering an already fragile economic recovery and once again exposing our nation's dependence on foreign sources of energy to run our factories, heat our homes and power our cars. According to a recent poll by the conservative Hudson Institute, 83 percent of Americans agree that "reducing our dependence on foreign oil must be a top priority for the next administration."Unfortunately, the recent run-up in oil prices also exposes our utter helplessness to make that happen.The standard solution proposed by the oil industry, the U.S. Chamber...

Scripture teaches very explicitly that God acts according to a plan And, knowing that plan, he knows the future. “The counsel of Jehovah standetb fast forever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations” (Ps. 3.3:11). “I am Cod and there is none like me; declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that arc not yet done” (isa. 46:9, 10) (Lorraine Boettner, Wycliffe Theological Dictionary, "Foreknowledge.") The doctrine of predestination thus represents the purpose of God as absolute and unconditional, independent of the whole finite creation, and as originating solely in the eternal counsel of his...

IS ANOTHER oil shock in the making? All indications point to that considering the rise in world crude prices, not just in the spot market, but also in the futures segment. In the past, the rise in the spot price of crude as, for instance, ahead of both the Gulf wars, was not accompanied by a sympathetic jump in the forward price simply because the market expected the spike to be short-lived. But, this time, the forward price has been going up sharply. Crude oil has jumped 13 per cent in three weeks. Oil for July delivery reached a record...

Just as certain as death and taxes is the knowledge that we shall one day be forced to learn to live without oil. Exactly when that day will dawn nobody knows, but people in middle age today can probably expect to be here for it. Long before it arrives we shall have had to commit ourselves to one or more of several possible energy futures. And the momentous decisions we take in the next few years will determine whether our heirs thank or curse us for the energy choices we bequeath to them. Sunset industry? Oil production could soon peak...

Oil is making headlines again. Never far from newsworthy, such is its over-riding economic and political importance, the spotlight has returned as harsh as ever. The price of benchmark US light sweet crude recently reached its highest level for 13 years, and the cartel of petroleum exporting nations, OPEC, maintained its decision to cut production - potentially fuelling yet more rises. Add increasing violence in Iraq delaying its return to full oil production, and it is understandable that oil analysts have been getting the jitters. Not to forget President George W. Bush, who in an election year really does not...

        BLEEDING HEARTS There’s nothing more dangerous in this day and age Than the liberal poison in thought. It spreads an infectious disease through our culture Which too many people have caught. Its symptoms include shedding blood from the heart In profusion for those who have failed To make sound decisions, to work hard and save, And to emulate those who prevailed. In spite of the obstacles found in their way, The successful are never inclined To think of themselves as the victims of fate, Or to claim that the system’s designed To thwart their best efforts at getting ahead Because...

America's dependence on Saudi Arabia and its supply of fuel is "so strong it's almost like a narcotic," according to a former CIA agent, in a May interview with Atlantic Unbound, the Atlantic Monthly's online journal. "If we don't curtail our dependence, a failure in Saudi Arabia could have catastrophic consequences for the United States," says Robert Baer, who worked for the CIA in the Middle East for two decades. The United States' policies on Saudi Arabia, Baer argues, are built upon a delusion that "the flow of its most precious commodity can continue on indefinitely". Oil and the defence...

Making Room in the Inn: Why We Need the Needy September 2, 2003 by Jennifer Roback Morse The self-sufficient, autonomous individual is at the heart of America's economic and political institutions. But some people are legitimately dependent on others. Children are profoundly, if temporarily, dependent on their parents. The elderly and the sick are dependent on others. The seriously disabled, and the mentally ill are permanently dependent. The problem of the legitimately dependent can not be finessed or argued away. There is no possible reconstruction of the social, economic and political system that will eliminate the helplessness of infancy. The...

A Summary Theology of Prayer June 2002 Below are five statements from John Piper as a summary theology of prayer. An assumption behind these statements is that to know more of God’s purpose will deepen our commitment to pray and help us glorify God for why he does what he does. 1. God created the universe and all that is in it to display the riches of the glory of his grace. Isaiah 43:6-7: Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, 7 everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for...

The Senate's rejection Thursday of oil exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge will make it harder for Senate and House negotiators to reconcile the energy policy bills. In a key procedural vote, ANWR drilling supporters mustered only 46 Senate votes, falling short of a symbolically significant simple majority and well below the 60-vote supermajority needed to add the measure to the Senate energy bill. Last August the Republican-controlled House voted 240-to-189 in favor of an energy bill that includes allowing limited drilling in the 1.5-million-acre ANWR coastal plain, a region believed to hold some of the largest undiscovered U.S....