Gwynne Dyer

Winning US presidency may prove a poisoned chalice

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As the opinion polls move steadily in favour of President George W. Bush and the likelihood of a John Kerry presidency recedes, Democrats in the United States can take solace in two facts. If their man is not in the White House for the next four years, then they will not end up carrying the blame for the almost inevitable US defeat in Iraq – and they will not have to preside over the biggest financial crisis to hit the US since the Great Depression.

Baghdad Year Zero “Pillaging Iraq in pursuit of a neocon utopia”

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…as I got closer I noticed that the crane was not actually rebuilding anything – not one of the bombed-out government buildings that still lay in rubble all over the city, nor one of the many power lines that remained in twisted heaps even as the heat of summer was starting to bear down. No, the crane was hoisting a giant billboard to the top of a three-story building.

The world eyes Iraqi oil

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EARLY in the Gulf War II campaign, the Arab world’s most widely circulated view was that the Anglo-Saxons wanted to grab Iraqi oil. Many Iraqis still believe this, but the theory gets much less attention these days abroad: Insurgent attacks are making oilfields far less attractive to oil companies.

Toilets vs. Life as We Know It

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What are we really flushing down the toilet? Toilets are a surprisingly important subject for maintaining ‘life as we know it.’ Most of us don’t even connect toilets and sustainability. The reasons are not immediately obvious; and have essentially escaped Humanity, especially Western Humanity “forever.” Individuals have realized the importance, but not cultures. Therefore, the cultures have disappeared.

To boost US security, an energy diet

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A rising chorus of experts … offer[s] a dramatic solution for America’s energy woes. By boosting the efficiency of cars, homes, and offices, the United States could dramatically cut its reliance on foreign oil and forgo building many new power plants. The solution would not only be easier than drilling for more energy, it would be cheaper, these experts say.

Oil and Gas: Facing the Music Before it Stops: Hubbert and Odum

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I’m glad to see the surge of interest in the coming peak of world oil production, even though the prospect is grim. Once again, people are willing to think about non-renewable resources and the consequences of an economy based on them. ….Most of the new information stems from the work of two little-known scientists, both deceased: petroleum geologist M. King Hubbert and systems ecologist Howard Odum.