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Old 10-31-2004, 10:44 PM   #4 (permalink)
host
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No president can justify sending U.S. troops into harm's way when it is not
absolutely necessary. The facts reveal that our indifferent attitude about
our excessive per capita fuel consumption must cease before use of our
troops would be justified. The U.S. population is about 6 percent of
world population. U.S. consumers are driving the largest and heaviest
vehicles that they ever have driven at a time of record high fuel prices.
Having made the indefensible decision to drive these huge SUV's when common sense should dictate choosing a smaller, more fuel efficient vehicle,

in a time when U.S. domestic oil output has declined 30 percent since the
mid 1980's and with the examples of more responsible energy policies of other
industrialized countries available for the U.S. to examine if we cared to look,
and with an oil imports driven, ever rising unsustainable U.S. trade deficit,
how could we trust ourselves or our leaders to correctly determine that we
are justifies to use troops to secure the oil resources of other countries for
our continued glutinous useage, which we cannot even afford at present
prices, with only the monetary cost of the Iraq expedition, and no other
direct expenditures for military action in securing foreign oil supplies.

The U.S. consumes 20 million barrels of oil each day, of the
82 million barrel daily world production. The U.S. produces 7.8 million barrels
per day, and imports 12.2 million barrels per day.
<a href="http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/usa.html">http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/usa.html</a>
<a href="http://www.centredaily.com/mld/centredaily/business/9752045.htm">http://www.centredaily.com/mld/centredaily/business/9752045.htm</a><p>
There is only a one percent cushion of world oil production vs. consumption.
At the current market price of $50 per barrel, U.S. oil imports cost $610 million
per day. These $220 billion annual foreign oil payments represent one third
of the U.S. $600 billion 2004 trade deficit.
World GDP total in 2003 was $51.5 trillion. U.S. GDP was $11 trillion. Look
around you.....with oil at a record high price, many Americans are driving
the largest, heaviest, and fuel consumptive vehicles that they have ever
owned. Motor fuels account for 45 percent, or 9 million barrels of the
20 million barrel daily U.S. oil consumption.
So...the U.S. share of world GDP is 21.3 percent, and U.S. oil consumption is
24.4 percent. Can't the most inventive and technologically advanced nation in
the world achieve better energy efficiency vs. GDP than 8 to 7 ?
Canadian GDP is $1 trillion, 2 percent of world GDP, Canada consumes
1.7 million barrels of oil per day, or about 2 percent of world oil production.
Germany GDP is $2.3 trillion, 4-1/2 percent of world GDP. Germany consumes
2.82 million barrels of oil per day, 3.43 percent of world oil production.
Japan GDP is $3.58 trillion, 7 percent of world GDP, Japan consumes 5.3
million barrels of oil per day, 6.4 percent of world oil production.
<a href="http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/xx.html">http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/xx.html</a>
<p>
If the U.S. enjoyed the energy efficiency of Germany, we could consume
13.48 million barrels of oil per day to produce $11 trillion annual GDP. We
would import 6.5 million barrels of oil per day less than we do now.
We would lower our trade deficit by $118 billion per year, and, by increasing
the available daily world oil supply be 6.5 million barrels, or from a 1 percent
cushion between supply and demand, to an 9 percent cushion. The price
of oil would plummet, U.S. annual trade deficit could drop even further, and
U.S. foreign policy would not be held hostage to the issue of middle east
oil field security.

With the $150 billion we have spent in invading and occupying Iraq, the U.S.
could have made signifigant progress in energy conservation investment and
in research to develop and promote alternative fuels and energy sources.
We are living through a failure of leadership, and a failure as a country as
to our efforts to make informed decisions about who we vote for, what we
drive, the size of our homes, and about choices of responsible and sustainable\ lifestyles compared to other people who live in industrialized
nations.
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