Misc Resource Wars Impact
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Electric CarsElectric car production causes pollution and warmingThe Week 11 [“Are electric cars actually bad for the environment?”, The Week, 6-14-11, http://theweek.com/article/index/216263/are-electric-cars-actually-bad-for-the-environment, javi] Production of electric cars is speeding up, as Ford prepares to introduce its C-Max Energi next year to compete with General Motors' much-hyped Chevrolet Volt. But a new British study suggests that electric vehicles might not be as green as environmentalists think. Because of pollution from the factories that make batteries, an electric car has a bigger carbon footprint than a gas-burning vehicles until it's traveled 80,000 miles, according to the research, which was financed by the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership. Does this mean electric cars aren't good for the planet after all? Yes, these vehicles are bad for the environment: Electric cars just aren't "a green option," says Ed Morrissey at Hot Air. "Not only do electric vehicles produce just as much carbon in their overall cycle as internal-combustion engines, the need to replace the batteries actually makes them less green than current technology." If we want a cleaner way to get around, "the answer is natural gas, not electric vehicles." a/t: Oil Disads2ac Non-UniqueUS oil imports have gone down considerably since 2005Avro 3-27 – Samuel, Founder & Sr. Editor of Consumer Energy Report, “U.S. Crude Oil Imports Down 12% Since 2005”, Consumer Energy Report, 3-27-12, http://www.consumerenergyreport.com/2012/03/27/u-s-crude-oil-imports-down-12-since-2005/] U.S. crude oil imports have fallen to their lowest level since 1999, according to data provided by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), an arm of the U.S. Department Of Energy (DOE). Crude oil imports for 2011 averaged 8.9 million barrels per day (bbl/d), falling below the 9 million bbl/d mark for the first time since 1999, and down 12 percent since hitting a peak of 10.1 million bbl/d in 2005. Increased Domestic Production, Lower Demand, or Both? The contributing factors to the steady drop in U.S. crude oil imports are decreased consumption and a recent increase in domestic oil production, according to the EIA. “Purchases of imported crude oil have declined because U.S. refiners had more supplies from domestic crude production to use, particularly higher oil output from Texas and North Dakota’s Bakken formation,” the EIA said. “Texas oil production last year reached its highest level since 1997, and North Dakota appears to have pushed past California in December as the third biggest oil producing state.” “The increased production trend is attributable primarily to a sustained period of high prices, and vast improvements in technology to find and bring oil to market,” Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst for the Oil Price Information Service (OPIS), told Consumer Energy Report. “The lower demand is a bit more puzzling. Some of it relies on a more efficient fleet, but turning over the fleet is a process that moves at a glacial pace. Something else is afoot in the last six months — my hunch is that there is a more secular change in travel, both for work and for leisure.” 2ac DiversificationOil exporting countries are diversifying their economies now – solves the impactVOA, ’09 - official external broadcast institution of the United States federal government; one of five civilian U.S. international broadcasters (Voice of America, “Oil Producing Countries Working to Diversify their Economies”, 10/31/09, http://www.voanews.com/content/a-13-2006-05-04-voa61/398257.html)//AY Record oil prices are providing key Middle Eastern oil producers with the financial means to diversify their economies in an effort to reduce their dependence on petroleum. The oil booms of the late 1970s and early '80s left oil producing Middle Eastern countries awash in money. Billions of petrodollars were spent on unsustainable domestic projects, such as Saudi Arabia's massive spending on agriculture to become the world's sixth-largest producer of wheat. When oil prices collapsed, the government ran out of money and the project failed. But the lessons of the past have not been lost on Riyadh or other members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, or G.C.C. Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, or U.A.E., also belong to the G.C.C. and, along with Saudi Arabia, possess 40 percent of the world's oil reserves.
Mohsin Khan, Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the International Monetary Fund, or I.M.F. in Washington, says these nations have curbed spending despite record oil revenues, projected to rise from $200 billion in the last two years to more than $350 billion for this year alone. He says, "They learned their lessons from the 1970s and '80s and are being much more cautious in terms of spending, much more cautious in terms of what they're predicting for oil prices. In other words, they're treating the oil price increase as temporary. They don't want to get trapped into large-scale, major government financed projects that, later on, if oil prices were to fall, would [leave them] with projects that are not economically viable." In the 1970s and '80s, governments in oil producing Middle Eastern nations spent up to 80 percent of their oil revenues on unsustainable development projects. This year, G.C.C. governments drew up their budgets based on oil selling for $30 per barrel. With an eye toward the future, these nations now save two-thirds of their oil revenues and spend the rest to diversify their economies away from oil, according to the I.M.F.'s Mohsin Khan.
So where is the money going? Many analysts say a new breed of investors from the region is on the lookout for investment opportunities abroad. At the same time, much of the money is being spent on education, tourism, training and new economic sectors meant to enhance privatization and create new jobs. Bahrain, for example, has developed into a major financial center that employs more Bahrainis than expatriates, who have a very strong presence in the Persian Gulf region. But Marcus Noland, Senior Fellow at the Institute for International Economics in Washington says success has been mixed, depending on each country's strengths and resources. He says, "Some, such as Saudi Arabia, have emphasized diversifying downstream by producing petrochemicals, plastics and so on. And those industries are expanding. Other [oil] producers, such as some of the smaller states along the Gulf, like the U.A.E., have emphasized moving into services - - whether financial services or, in the case of Dubai, obviously transportation services and, to a certain degree, tourism." Saudi Arabia has also opened up domestic trade and investment opportunities, which are expected to be worth more than $600 billion during the next few years. And the President of the National U.S.-Arab Chamber of Commerce in Washington, David Hamod says many of these projects are not in petrochemicals. He says, "You see U.S. companies like Cisco [Arial Unicode MS,Arial,Verdanas], Intel, I.B.M. and others now investing millions and millions of dollars in some of the biggest markets, like Saudi Arabia, where they see tremendous growth in the service sector. And as people begin to diversify their economies in the region, they recognize that services are an important part of the future." Qatar, meanwhile, has used its oil revenues to expand its petrochemical industries and develop new avenues for training and educational opportunities for its people. In Oman, the government is overhauling the country's financial institutions and privatizing more of its economy. Directory: files files -> Answer True False 2 points Question 2 files -> Integer programming and game theory files -> 4 Integer Programming files -> Bpa vehicle Window Repair Scenario #1 task: Procure vehicle window relacement. Objective files -> Pop Warner History files -> North Carolina Inclusion Initiative Mapping Where Children with ieps are Being Served Purpose files -> Fall 2013 Spring 2014 Program Data: Standard 1 Exhibit 4d files -> Hanban – asia society confucius classrooms network 2010 request for proposal files -> Northern England’s set-jetting locations Download 0.73 Mb. Share with your friends:
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