A Century Ago, Petroleum - What We

There Are Signs That The Age Of Petroleum Has Passed Its Zenith. Adjusted For Inflation, A Barrel Of Crude Oil Now Sells For Three Times Its Long-run Average. The Large Western Oil Companies, Which Cartellised The Industry For Much Of The 20th Century, Are Now Selling More Oil Than They Find, And Are Thus In The Throes Of Liquidation.

Nature Is Not Simply A Technical Or Economical Resource, And Human Beings Are Not Mere Numbers. To Suggest That One Can Somehow Align All The Squabbling Institutions Of Science, Environmental Management, Government And Diplomacy In An Alliance Of Convenience To Regulate The Global Climate Seems To Me Optimistic.

The Dividing Line Between Wish And Need Was Never Clear.

Since The Attack On The United States On September 11 2001, And The Us Retaliation In Afghanistan And Iraq, There Must Be Few People Who Have Not Felt A Twinge Of Nostalgia For The Cold War.

The World Dominion Of Western Thought, Forms Of Organisation, Technology And Military Force Is Not God-given, Nor Eternal, Nor Greatly Appreciated By The Rest Of The World.