A valued commodity
Since the Industrial Revolution in the latter half of the nineteenth century, the US and the world's dependence on oil has skyrocketed. Oil was and is heavily used in building military might in probably the most violent century in history -the twentieth century- encompassing two massive total wars and the cynicism of the Cold War. Having oil is still seen as having power which is why some of the richest countries in the world are exporters of oil. In cases like the Oil Embargo of 1973, the response to cartel operated prices of the volatile commodity showed that it can be the dagger for a failing economy while paradoxically high prices became signs of economic success. Oil and its strategic trade has determined much of the United States' foreign policy especially in the Middle East. Despite the exaltation of liberal politics and institutions of democracy and human rights, the US has turned a blind eye to human rights abuses in countries that are strategically important allies. Recently even Saudi Arabia served on the UN Human Rights Council until 2019. The timeline below from the Council on Foreign Relations details further the growing reliance of the US for oil and how its impacted many of its political and environmental objectives.
Timeline
The United States' dependence on oil has long influenced its foreign policy. This timeline traces the story of U.S. oil development, and the resulting geopolitical competition and environmental concerns, in more than forty milestones. The three major periods include the rise of oil as a commodity, beginning in 1850; the post-WWII age of geopolitical competition; and the current era of deregulation and diversification. -The Council on Foreign Relations
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"The United States continues to focus on energy security and not greenhouse gas emissions in the decade following the Kyoto Protocol."
Credit: Charlie Riedel/AP Images/Council on Foreign Relations
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Saudi Arabia as an ally and Yemen
Currently in Yemen there has been a civil war raging since the end of 2014. The civil war began when a group of Irani backed rebels called the Houthis took over the government. Soon after, a Saudi Arabian and United Arab Emirate (UAE) backed coalition intervened and began to attack the Yemeni rebels in order to reinstate the official government. Saudi Arabia has been partially financed and fully supported by the US government and military sending equipment, bombs, and training for the coalition only prolonging the war. The UN has called it the largest humanitarian crisis in the world. The question one might have regarding the alliance and support of the US for Saudi Arabia and its ensuing civilian deaths is: why is a country based upon liberal values supporting the bombing of innocent civilians by a country that has committed plenty of its own human rights violations? The answer: oil, protection from Russian influence post Cold War, and strategy.
Alliance explained
"President Obama hosts Saudi King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud at the White House. "
Credit:
Olivier Douliery/Pool/Getty Images/Zach Beauchamp, Vox
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The answer, as it turns out, is more complicated than you might think. The relationship, one of America's longest-running in the Arab world, began in 1933, centering on oil exploration. But during the Cold War it became more about fighting communism, and after that about preserving a political status quo in the Middle East that seemed to serve both nations' interests quite well. -Zach Beauchamp, Senior Correspondent for Vox
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Yemeni Civil War
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The Trump Administration has failed to take action to stop the massive starvation and unrest in Yemen. Thousands of children are dying of starvation and many have even predicted them to go extinct. Yet, the US government still supports the rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran after the invasion of Kuwait oil fields for its strategic interests, thereby allowing and supporting the Saudi Arabian led coalition to reinstate the recognized government. The article from The Atlantic details further the United States involvement and the actions it could be taking.
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"A man walks through the rubble of an air strike on a college in Saada, Yemen"
Credit: NAIF RAHMA / REUTERS / The Atlantic
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Environmental problems
Many people are attune to the many environmental tragedies that have come from the world's reliance on oil. The many oil spills, the dangers of fracking, and the exploitation of this nonrenewable resource has led many to question its longterm environmental viability. Its part of a list of fossil fuels that emit carbon dioxide into the atmosphere increasing the greenhouse gas emissions that have led to rampant climate change. In essence, the extraction and the use of oil are deemed by environmentalists as heavily polluting the Earth around us and at the pace we are extracting it, there may not be enough to keep energy afloat.
Oil spills
"LONG BEACH, MISS. The BP oil spill may prove to be the worst ever."
Credit: Amanda Mccoy/The Sun Herald, via Associated Press/New York times
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From Exxon Valdez Oil spill off the coast of Alaska, to the BP oil spill there has still been large amounts of long term effects that come from the sudden spills. Just as no one would think that a highly regulated nuclear power plant could create a nuclear accident such as Chernobyl, under the care of humans, any accident like the spill especially under lax government regulations could occur. The article from the New York Times details further the long term effects on marine life due to oil spills.
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In a recent development, related to the human rights abuses and the civil war happening in Yemen, an unattended and unmaintained SAFER FSO tanker off the coast of Yemen is being destabilized by the seawater in the Red Sea. If the tanker spills the oil, the spill would be 4 times as catastrophic as the Exxon Valdez spill. The UN Security Council has been pressing on the issue. The CNN article details further the urgency of the situation.
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"The SAFER FSO tanker has been left unmaintained for more than five years off the Yemeni port of Ras Isa"
Credit: CNN
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Fracking
The global superpowers have taken a turn to tap into the world reserves of oil as part of a movement for more "homegrown oil" rather than reliance on imported oil. However, one of the methods that countries are taking to extract from their reserves is fracking where by high pressure systems of water or sand are used to extract the oil to the top of the surface (National Geographic). Many environmentalists have drawn concern due to the potential ill effects of fracking and the continued investment in the industry while not investing enough in renewable and clean energy sources. The article from the National Geographic below explains the controversy further with fracking.
According to a number of studies and publications -General Accounting Office report on shale development, September 2012, via National Geographic
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"Natural gas flared as waste is a new sight on the Dakota prairie, where fracking—a way of extracting hard-to-reach oil—and directional drilling have sparked a boom."
Credit: EUGENE RICHARDS via National Geographic
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A new Commodity?
Because of many of the issues stated above, the world is looking to a new prized commodity: Data. Data is not tangible and therefore cannot cause environmental detriments as large as oil and can even contribute to the creation of the technology for renewable energy sources. We see this increase in reliance on data with the advent of tech giants like Amazon that have and can buy our data for marketing of products. However, there are many differences in the values that come from data and oil. The articles below take on two different takes on the rise of data as the new prized commodity overtaking oil, or as completely different entities.
