Fuel of War: Overview
Money on CNN recently posted a new article about Frontlines: Fuel of War, a video game by Kaos Studios. The premise of the game is described by Steve Hargreaves in the quote below:
"Over the last two decades prior to 2030 oil production has peaked and is declining rapidly, renewables never panned out, plagues hit, and starvation ensued."Hargreaves practically dismisses the issue of peak oil and doesn't get into any of the arguments at all. All he writes is the following:
"Most oil industry analysts say peak oil production is many decades, if not hundreds of years away, and a transition to other sources will likely be more orderly than the scenario depicted in Frontline.It's unfortunate that he doesn't explain or give evidence for either side. But in the end, it appears that this game is getting media coverage and if people buy this game they might get interested in the topic and have an awareness to the issue. Craig Anderson, a profession of psychology was concerned for the players and stated the following:
But a small and growing number of experts -- some well-respected -- say peak oil production is close or has happened and the transition will be much more painful than mainstream analysts predict."
"It may well change attitudes towards the use of these tactics as a political tool," he said. Players may think "of course we have to use military tactics to go take oil"
It seems that he is unaware about many of the current conflicts in the world centered around resources including, but not limited to, minerals, timber, water, and perhaps most importantly oil (Read Resource Wars by Michael Klare for more information on resource wars or see and excerpt of his book)
Fortunately, the game's general manager is more open to the idea that resource wars are already occurring:
My ThoughtsDeLise dismisses such concerns, saying nations go to war all the time over resources, and that the game is merely a reflection of reality.
"When it comes down to it, it's about what countries will do to survive,' he said. 'That's not going to change.'"
Resource Wars
Resource wars are a reality and are occurring throughout the world today. Many times, resource wars are masked as "religious" because those are for some reason deemed as inevitable and it is acceptable to have wars over religion because they have "always happened".
However, if the wars were truly labeled for what they were, most people probably wouldn't tolerate the wars. For example, most people are unaware of the significance of the Golan Heights and West Bank in terms of water resources. During the Six-Day War, Israel seized both of these territories.
What is their significance you may ask? The West Bank contains many valuable aquifers and the Golan Heights is where the Baniyas River is located. The Baniyas is the direct tributary to Lake Tiberias which later flows into the Jordan River and is a source of water for Israel. Jordan had planned to diver water from the Baniya river, and thus, by seizing the Golan Heights, Israel secured its water supply from Jordan.
If you're interested more on this topic, I would highly recommend reading Resource Wars by Michael Klare. He focuses primarily on resource wars related to water and oil, but has one chapter dedicated to timber and minerals. Also, Water Wars by Vandana Shiva offers more specific information about resource wars over water.
Peak Oil
Peak Oil will soon become a reality for the world (whether it has occurred already or not). Peak Oil has already occurred within many countries around the world in the United States. The only reason why the United States was able to recover from this crisis was because the world oil market had not yet peaked.
But the imminent question is what will happen when oil peaks globally? Many scientists and authors believe that it will be catastrophic and result in wars and violence as described in Fuel of War. Considering that resource wars are already occurring, it is not a far fetched idea that this could happen.
Either way, peak oil will affect every person on this planet. We will not be able to maintain the high energy lifestyle that we currently take for granted. Let's hope for humanity that the world will be able to manage the decrease in oil supply and manage the available resources without having to result to wars.
Recommended Websites:
Recommended Books:
- Resource Wars: The New Landscape of Global Conflict - Michael Klare
- The Oil Factor: Protect Yourself and Profit from the Coming Energy Crisis
- Stephen Leeb
- Water Wars: Privatization, Pollution, and Profit
- Vandana Shiva
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