OPEC’s Unyielding Grasp A hole dug too deep to climb out By: Seth Bornstein

About OPEC  O.P.E.C.-- Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries  September 10-14, Baghdad, Iran  12 countries- Intergovernmental  Unify/regulate petroleum producers  Regular supply of oil  Prices- Control/Change

OPEC Oil Production  29.8 million barrels per day  44% world’s oil production  79% world’s oil reserves  Saudi Arabia- most- 250 Gbs  Gbs  Gbs (1,000,000,000,000 barrels)

U.S. Consumption  Most of all countries  Transportation= 2/3 oil consumption  40% U.S. yearly energy=petroleum  Over half- OPEC  Problems

Oil Prices  Rising  Affect many- cars  Inflation  Extremely volatile  Prices rise—weather/conflict/wars  Production drop= prices rise-- High shipping costs

U.S. Problems- Reliance  At member countries mercy  M.E. events- hurt US economy (Arab Oil Embargo)  War threat- pull out….  Muslim control- views/religion/Israel  Conflict today

U.S. Problems- Deficit  More and more expensive  More and more investing  $300 billion per year  $42 billion deficit  Rising- more spending

U.S. Problems- Pollution  Petroleum= 1 of largest pollutants  Contain carbon dioxide/nitrogen  Greenhouse gases- global warming  Fossil fuels- cars  Concentrated massively in cities

U.S.– Problem Solving  Strategic Petroleum Reserve- 707 million barrels  60 day survival  Hybrids-  Electric  Less pollution

U.S. Alternatives: Ethanol  60% cleaner than petroleum  50¢ per barrel  Ethanol mixtures- E10  364 million barrels reduce  Break dependence  OPEC crash-15 years  Jobs- not overseas

Ethanol Prevention  Tax on synthetic oil (ethanol)  Convert to ethanol--  Jobs lost/Conflict threat  M.E.- live in desert again  Gov. doesn't want problems  No motivation

Ethanol Cons  More energy produce-provide  11 acres corn= 1 year fuel for a car  Feed 7 people for year  Damage food production-  More corn than food production  All cars in U.S. ethanol= 97% of U.S. land

Other Alternatives  Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska:  20 million acres  Sits on oil- 7 billion barrels  Tar Sands: Canada  Problems with each…  Companies- do nothing- think something will be discovered  Government- say/don’t do Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR)

Sources Ch azan, Guy. "Oil Prices Surge on Fears Egypt Unrest May Hurt Supply - WSJ.com." Business News & Financial News - The Wall Street Journal - Wsj.com. 1 Feb Web. 23 Feb Dye, Lee. "US: Foreign Oil Dependency: Stuck Between a Rock and Hard Place." Energy Bulletin. ABCnews.com, 27 July Web. 3 Mar "HowStuffWorks "OPEC and Global Gas Prices"" Howstuffworks "Auto " Web. 1 Mar McNinch, Steven R. "U.S. Ethanol Can Replace OPEC Oil Immediately » Growth Energy." Growth Energy. Longmont Times Cell, 17 Aug Web. 3 Mar "OPEC : Brief History." OPEC : Home. Web. 23 Mar "Story - Farm Futures." Farm Futures - Home. 9 Mar Web. 10 Mar

Sources "Allah vs. the Price of Gas." Hubpages. Web. 1 Apr Energy, Growth. "On OPEC's 50th Anniversary, U.S. Ethanol Industry Calls on Congress and Consumers to Help Retire the Cartel | Growth Energy." Renewable Energy World - Renewable Energy News, Jobs, Events, Companies, and More. 14 Sept Web. 3 Mar "OPEC : Setting the Record Straight over Prices." OPEC : Home. Web. 2 Mar "OPEC (multinational Organization) -- Britannica Online Encyclopedia." Encyclopedia - Britannica Online Encyclopedia. Web. 27 Feb "Petroleum - Water, Effects, Environmental, Disasters, Pollutants, United States, History, Causes, Impact, EPA, Soil, Chemicals, Industrial, Liquid, Wells, Toxic, World, Human, Power." Pollution Issues. Web. 27 Feb