To say the least I am only an interested oil industry outsider. My observation I know, is not new, but it is amzaing to realize our enemy's don't need to nuke us... they just need to take away our oil- KAPUT!, they win. I think our country went into a coma in the 80's and 90's and completly forgot about the 70's and what oil problems can do. History does just repeat itself, complete with giant gas guzzeling auto's...

Any thoughts anyone?

-- Tom (tsred@987.com), January 23, 2000

Answers

Since a case can be made that the world went to war over oil more than once in the last century, ask yourself: If the US (okay, the Greater US of NATO) were to face a choice either of social and economic collapse on one hand, or of confronting face to face some fourth rate oligarchy with no army of its own to speak of on the other...

Let me put it another way. If the big kid wants your lunch, and shrimpy you won't sell it to him, what is the big kid's plan B?

-- Scarecrow (Somewhere@over.rainbow), January 23, 2000.

OK, get those flamers warmed up, here's a theory I'm mulling over. First you have to remember that the government and all the oil companies supposedly stockpiled extra fuel in anticipation of possible Y2k disruptions to supply, and that there has been a much milder than normal winter in the U.S. up to this point. Also that the price of diesel is now higher than gasoline, which makes no sense at all since diesel and fuel oil require less refining than gasoline and have historically always been cheaper. Also the refineries always switch to heating oil refining in the fall to build up inventories in advance of cold weather demand. Yet we have severe shortages of a product which was supposed to be stockpiled at higher than normal levels and in the face of lessened consumption. This makes absolutely no sense. If anything fuel oil and diesel prices should have been falling since the first of the year.

So obviously something has happened to the stockpiled fuel oil and diesel.

I propose that the indicators of what happened are perfectly obvious in the Australian aviation fuel contamination episode and the turn arounds of tankers from the NY are because of (contamination), and the sudden revalation that the British navy is out of fuel. Someone has developed a virus which destroys fuel oil, has contaminated major aoilofields with it, and it is eating stored reserves into which it has been introduced. Most likely Russia.

-- Nikoli Krushev (doomsday@y2000.com), January 23, 2000.

Could it be possible that Y2K really did hit our oil Suppliers and that our country is now running out of the reserves it built up but the Government doesn't want to admit it?

-- Anne in TN (imnot@work.com), January 23, 2000.

Tom, if they tried to withhold oil from us, we would bomb the bejeezahs outta them. That's the surest way to GUARANTEE a war, I suspect.

-- Hokie (Hokie_@hotmail.com), January 23, 2000.

I learnd about Plan B:

"I was glad to return to XXXX where I had friends. But the school bully, R. Kuhlman, now long departed, attacked me. Bullying was his hobby and I was his favorite target because I was a chicken. As usual, I ran away as fast as I could to escape him. Our father, the potent hot rod, had not taught us, Little Brother and me, to have courage, or how to defend ourselves against bullies, and more importantly, how to be bullies.

The bloody face of a schoolmate flashed through my mind. I had breathlessly watched when R. had pounded it with a stick until it was no longer identifiable.

My temper rose.

My guardian angel warned me, defend yourself!

Without thinking, I stopped running, bent over, picked up sand, turned around and threw it into R.'s face. I commenced pounding it with both fists as rapidly as I could, until blood and tears were flowing. I gained further courage from the cheering of friends. R. stood paralyzed like a post until I was afraid of what I might do to him, and therefore ceased to apply justice. He ran home, while I basked in the glow of my victory. Although I felt proud, this was not I, because I was always timid and never wanted to hurt anyone. I still do not like to kill spiders or flies."

-- Not Again! (seenit@ww2.com), January 23, 2000.

Nikoli,
My thoughts also, but the answer is bacteria or fungus.
(A virus only *works* with live cells)

A great start on research would be the works of Paul Stamets, a research pioneer. Great article - Link from Whole Earth Review, a little "left" for my taste, but the science of some of the stuff is OK.

-- Possible Impact (posim@hotmail.com), January 23, 2000.

Oil eating Bacteria

http://www.uscar.org/techno/bacteria.htm

-- Alan Fugatz (alanfugatz@ashaycase.net), January 24, 2000.

Out of the substantial potential enemies of the USA, few, if any, are major oil suppliers. Iraq isn't selling us any, North Korea doesn't sell it, nor does China or Russia...

-- Mad Monk (madmonk@hawaiian.net), January 24, 2000.

Mad Monk,
Think sabotage, sneaking onto a tanker and adding a substance to the tanks. Sending a special Ops team to a country which Does trade with the US and 'fixing' a refinery or terminal. This could be even "simple" economic war, they make large sums of money from the resulting world shortage. It may also be political, trying to undermine a government they dislike.

-- Possible Impact (posim@hotmail.com), January 24, 2000.