terror.. oil

[Heidi and Dan Chay]

Hi,

Let me add mine as a new voice here to the chorus of thanks on this list for
each of your contributions to collective wisdom, good will, and restraint --
and your willingness to hold space for wholeness and otherness.

Here is a beautiful image from a friend of mine in Oxford who identifies as
a learner and an artist.  I put it on our website for you to view at
http://www.learning-communities.com/Tears.htm .

Jeff,

I can't help thinking that the web of cause and effect which is the
contextual tapestry for this week's horror is quite complex -- and that your
observations about our dependence on oil also may be dead on.  Oil, in
particular,  is a thread that connects almost all of us in our daily
behaviors directly to destructive politics of coercion and force in the
Mideast, South America, Africa, Indonesia, and elsewhere.

A week ago, few of us could even imagine such a horrible scenario as we've
experienced this week, and if someone had invited us to anticipate the
possibility in advance, most of us would have refused.  We would have been
"too busy," and, unfortunately, probably too optimistic.

My intuition tells me we collectively will be more resilient in the future
if we can hold space to question fundamental assumptions about which most of
our lives in capitalist society are predicated.  It also seems to me that
forging a positive creative future will take the active, learning-oriented
alertness and participation of all us in a way that a destructive future
would not.  Demergence happens easily, even by default or neglect.  Many
things must come together for emergence.

In this moment of pause, let me just share a couple links that proceed from
the assumption that oil resources are finite and that our dependency on oil
and natural gas is dangerously high.

Among other things, people featured in essays at these sites observe that
U.S. total global oil production has been declining since 1970 and will be
little affected by drilling ANWR, that the ratio of oil consumed globally to
oil discovered each year for a long time has been around 4:1; that a huge
fraction of remaining known oil deposits are in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq,
Iran, and UAE; that there are arguably still no proven, easily scaleable
substitutes for oil and gas particularly as we use these fossil fuels for
transportation, fertilizers, and pesticides; and that trying to launch new
energy infrastructures, let alone sustain growth in a climate of global oil
production decline, increasing scarcity, and more and more elbows in the
world will be hugely difficult.

http://www.dieoff.org
http://www.hubbertpeak.com

All best wishes,

Dan Chay




----- Original Message -----
From: Jeff Aitken <ja at svn.net>
To: <OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU>
Sent: Friday, September 14, 2001 12:03 PM
Subject: terror.. oil


> Peg's question, and that writer, make me think. This is a heartfelt and
> political posting...
>
> "Terrorism" seems to always be an extreme reaction to dominant cultures.
In
> many cases the cause is just, even tho the violence cannot be condoned; so
> an antidote to terror is to deeply listen to the anguish that leads to
> violence, and work for resolution.
>
> But sometimes the cause may not be just. For example, I don't really know
> if Mr. bin Laden's cause, which seems to be to overthrow the Saudi rulers,
> is a just one. He has attacked the US before - and may have done so
again -
> because the US military presence helps keep those rulers in power. It
seems
> to be a case of Islamic fundamentalists trying to oust other Islamic
> powerholders. Is it clear which side is just? I'm sure there are other
> "sides" to consider as well.
>
> I am not educated about the situation at all - I am just beginning to try
> to understand it - but this may be a situation in which the US would
> legitimately resist what may be a Taliban-style movement wanting to take
> power in Saudi Arabia led by a Saudi exile who was trained by the CIA.
> Especially when that exile attacks the US directly. What means shall be
> used for that resistance?
>
> As I write this, I think a few things: 1. Our addiction to oil is once
> again at the bottom of this. 2. I want the people of Saudi Arabia, and all
> nations, to decide on their own government, without interference. 3. Our
> addiction will not be resolved for several years, and until then is it
> right or wrong to use military power to maintain that oil based industrial
> system?
>
> I want to open space for a rapid, methodical transition away from a fossil
> fuel society.
>
> -
> Jeff Aitken
> Consultant/Facilitator: Specialist in Open Space Process
> Intro to Open Space learning workshop Dec 12-14
> http://www.openspaceworld.com
> 1800 Arch St. Berkeley CA 94709 USA - (510) 540.6576
>
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