Works Cited “OPEC History” 12 October 2004 Online http://www.opec.org/About_OPEC/History.htm LeClair, Mark S. International Commodity Markets and the Role of Cartels. Armonk, New York: M.E. Sharpe, 2000 Kohler, Heinz. Economics. Lexington: D.C. Health and Company, 1992 Mouawad, Jad (2004, October 3).
Retrieved July 30, 2008, from CATO Institute: http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=3272 The Saudi Contradiction. (2001, October 30). Wall Street Journal . Wells, C. (2003). Understanding Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia, under Aristotle’s categorization, is an oligarchy even though Saudi Arabia has a monarch (King Abdullah). This is because the royal family, the descendants of King Abd Al-Aziz who died in 1953 leaving 40 sons (Raphaeli, 2003), has such a great sphere of influence in the governance and control of the country. This matches Aristotle’s definition of oligarchy as ‘the many’, the people, are ruled by ‘the few’, the Saudi Arabian royal family, with ‘the few’ benefiting and working in self interest (Heywood, 2007). This form of governance has major implications for the people of Saudi Arabia and its durability will be tested in the future, particularly in reference to the current upheavals occurring throughout the Middle East. In theory Saudi Arabia could also be seen as an example of an Aristotelian form of monarchy as the King has absolute legislative and constitutional power.
The current crude oil price spike began early in 1999 due to a variety of factors. Struggle in the Middle East along with minimal policy changes from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and the U.S. Government has kept prices high to this very day. The History of Oil Crisis Within the United States Before looking at the current oil situation, it is important to understand the times of oil crisis in our country?s past. Through the years between 1970 and 2000, the price of oil has risen and fallen in often-drastic amounts. It is these price fluxuations in crude oil that has caused fuel prices to vary and the economy of the United States to be volatile.
Exxon Mobil is also a major petrochemical producer. The 1999 marriage of the two companies was facilitated for very different market and industry pressures than what the oil industry faces today. In the late 90’s companies in the oil industry and other sectors faced what many experts called “a new global crisis” in which excess oil capacity along with technological and other changes in the industry have turned the traditional oil business model on its head. Where prices could once be based on costs and passed on to consumers, companies were increasingly slashing their costs to meet falling price targets. This situation being a stark contrast to what the world is seeing today.
This is an example of the growing American tolerance for Saudi government transgressions. Saudi princes "squander billions of dollars [from the Saudi coffers] on palaces in Spain and at gaming tables in Monaco"(Cockburn) while the Saudi people suffer severe unemployment and inadequate education, a major issue in a nation in which 50 percent of the population is still in school. Religious dissidents are dealt with brutally and quickly in Saudi Arabia by the mutawwa'in&emdash;religious police&emdash;and Saudi women are kept as secluded and unprivileged as those in Afghanistan under Taliban rule. ... ... middle of paper ... ...ays and human rights atrocities without fear of punishment. Works Cited Cockburn, Leslie, and Andrew Cockburn.
Recently, President Bush traveled to the Middle East to observe the war in Iraq, the situation in Israel, and talk to the Saudi’s about oil prices. In a quotation from a CNN article, Mr. Bush exclaimed (26): "Oil prices are very high, which is tough on our economy. I would hope, as OPEC considers different production levels, that they understand that if ... one of their biggest consumers' economy suffers, it will mean less purchases, less gas and oil sold.” This bold statement by the president shows how important control of oil in the Middle East is. However, only 17% of oil consumed in the U.S. comes from the Persian Gulf states. The question then becomes: why is the U.S. so keen on having sway over countries with oil in the Middle East?
This source can be a possible solution to solve the energy crisis as well as the global warming issue. Introduction- Energy crisis has remained a top concern in the world today. Fossil fuels, the most widely used energy source in the U.S. and in the world, is rapidly being depleted due to the fast consumption rate. Since we are highly depended on oil for transportation, cooking, and communication in our daily lives, the oil storage is starting to run out and eventually it will be all gone. Petroleum oil is always considered as a cheap energy source; however, the price of oil per barrel and per gallon has gone up significantly worldwide.
2014. . Cordesman, Anthony H. Saudi Arabia Enters the Twenty-first Century: The Political, Foreign Policy, Economic, and Energy Dimensions. Westport, CT: Praeger, 2003. Print. “Saudi Arabia Market Description.” (n.d.): n. pag.
Almost every consumer good in America requires some form of petroleum somewhere in its production (Savinar 15). Oil also powers nearly all of our transportation industry. The factors determining the severity of the oil crisis are complex in the extreme, so making predictions about it is likewise very difficult. Because predictions are so speculative and the consequences are so important, there are widely differing opinions about when and how the crisis will occur. One important element of the crisis is the concept of “Peak Oil.” According to the Association for the Study of Peak Oil&Gas or ASPO, a multi-national network of scientists, affiliated with European institutions and universities, Peak Oil is the date at which global oil production will reach its greatest ever rate and begin to decrease.