Abstract

Conflict over the oil resource in Nigeria is not an issue that can be simplified into a single driving cause. The issue is complex and cuts across the topics of violence, environmental degradation, and democratic representation in the Niger Delta. These topics within the issue of conflict over oil encompass political, economic, and social histories where effects can be seen at the local, state national, and international levels. The conflict over oil is largely fueled by the financial interest of western Multinational Oil Corporations. With over 80% of the Nigerian federal revenue being supplied by oil exports to foreign countries, the US in the lead, it is not difficult to identify one of the driving factors of Nigeria's oil conflict. The Chevron Oil Company has established itself as a formidable force within Nigeria's oil fields, particularly in the Bayelsa State. Chevron and its partners have held a presence in Nigerian oil discovery and production since the Gulf Oil Company's first off-shore mining in Okan conducted in 1963. In Bayelsa State there have been frequent kidnapping and attacks carried out by youth, citizens and militias unhappy with the environmental degradation and distribution of the oil wealth. Chevron, among other oil corporations, has been accused of exploiting local rivalries and ethnic differences as well as assisting the government in carrying out raids on communities hostile to Chevron's presence. More recently Chevron has changed its position from one of suppressing local communities' concerns to increasing development assistance and community investment. The effectiveness of these new programs will help to determine the stability of Niger Delta region in the future as other Multinational Oil Corporations recognize the importance of engaging local communities instead of forcibly suppressing their growing concerns.

(disclaimer: lengthy research paper below)

In March 2002, when Mr. Bush began his excellent adventure in Iraq, oil was selling for $20 per barrel. Oil prices briefly touched $100 per barrel this year, and the Department of Energy expects the price of oil to stabilize above $80 for the rest of 2008; about a $60 increase since we shocked and awed Iraq.

Barry Commoner is almost certainly the first Presidential candidate to orient his campaign around the intersection of Environmental, Economic, and Energy policy. Commoner’s philosophy (“The first law of ecology is that everything is related to everything else") was considered so radical at the time of his candidacy that he was ostracized to the lunatic fringe, as it were, which is why the vast majority of readers today do not recall his 1980 candidacy.

To paraphrase William Burroughs, gas price surges can be like one of those moments where everyone sees what's on the end of every fork. High gas prices force us to make decisions based on what matters most, and force us to be cleverer, and more efficient.

Cross-posted at My Left Wing

The Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR) is set to publish a blistering report sometime later this spring that exposes the failure of two U.S. companies charged with repairing oil meters on Iraqi pipelines responsible for calculating the flow of billions of dollars worth of crude oil. U.S. contractors in Iraq, Halliburton Inc. of Houston, Texas and Parsons Corporation of Pasadena, California are expected to fair badly in the report documenting the companies multiple failures to complete their work – started back in March 2003 shortly after the U.S. led takedown of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

Previously posted on the Young People For Blog.

The UN has reported that Africa's economic growth is increasing, slow and steady, but frail. They are predicting that the continent's economies will grow almost 6% in 2007. However the report states that if African countries are to continue to grow they will need to diversify their economic output and invest more in infrastructure. The top growing econmies include: Mauritania (19.8%), Angola (17.6%), and Mozambique (7.6%). The report points out that the economic growth rests on a very fragile base and there are still conflicts to face. The HIV/AIDS crisis has killed much of Africa's workforce. Countries need to open their borders to trade, invest in their infrastructure, and insulate themselves against external shocks. If these predicted growth percentage's come true in 2007 this will be the continent's fourth year of growth. Zimbabwe was the only economy to contract in the last year by 4.4%.

Crossposted from Town Called Dobson & My Left Wing


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In order to get the full picture you will have to click on the links for some background.

Hee hee 

Big Oil sent out their big guns after little old me just because I tried to help Wise County residents understand the truth about Groundwater Conservation Districts--a truth Big Oil does not want us to know.