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Economic impact of oil in the middle east
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American Oil Dependence
Since the oil embargo of 1977, there has been an increased awareness of our nation's energy security. As global population and energy consumption rise, the need for a stable energy supply has become a hot topic and a politically volatile issue. As our negative trade balance grows larger by the day, the United States finds itself in a rather precarious position. We are becoming more and more dependent on Middle East oil.
Indeed, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) predicts that domestic petroleum consumption will increase to 60 Btu by the year 2025. This statistic, in and of itself, is a matter of concern with respect to the greenhouse gas emissions that result from petroleum combustion. However, perhaps more disconcerting is the fact that U.S. oil production peaked in 1970 and has continued to fall since then (Campbell et. al., 1998). Therefore, the American public has turned to foreign oil, in particular Middle Eastern oil, to supplement its increase in demand. In an age where terrorism is at the forefront of people's minds, we still continue to import oil from the same nations that supposedly harbor so-called terrorist groups. The fact is that we are unwilling to responsibly face our energy future and instead choose to maintain a policy of increasing oil supply through importation.
One of the main problems with this strategy is that it is a short-term remedy. Studies conducted by M. King Hubbert in 1956 predicted the rise, peak, and subsequent decline of global oil production. He predicted that global oil production would rise until around 2002 and then start declining (Campbell et. al., 1998). If one takes the oil embargo of 1977 into account, effectively decreasing the rate...
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...to a fuel that, upon exhaustion, will mark our retreat from the global economic spotlight.
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Campbell, Colin J., Laherrere, Jean H. "The End Of Cheap Oil." Scientific American Mar. 1998: 78-83.
Flo, Gary. "Lecture on Fossil Fuel Consumption." 8 Sep. 2003
N.A. "Environmental Advocates Statistics In Hand." 2003: www.geocities.com/Rainforest/Canopy/2743
Assoc. Press. "U.S. Auto Sales Hit 2003 High In July." USA Today 1 Aug. 2003: www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2003-07-31-autosales_x.htm
Mills, Mark. "25 Years After OPEC's Embargo." Environmental News Jan. 1999: www.heartland.org
N.A. "www.skyaid.org." 2003: www.skyaid.org/skycar/us_auto_statistics.htm
Staff Writer. "Bureau of Land Management Maximizing Energy Development, Minimizing Environmental Protection." NRDC 7 Aug. 2003: www.nrdc.org/bushrecord/airenergy_publiclands.asp#1383
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Ethical behavior, in a general sense, is a definition of moral behavior in regards to lawfulness, societal standards, and things of that nature. In the business world, ethics commonly refer to acceptable and unacceptable business practices within the workplace, and all other related environments. The acceptance of colleges regardless of ethnicity, gender, and beliefs, as well as truthfulness and honesty in relation to finances within the company are examples of ideal ethical business conducts. Unethical business behavior would include manipulating procedures based on bias or discrimination, engaging in activities that promote political gain, as well as blatant fabrication of monetary factors within the company and “can affect organizational performance and is costly to employers, employees, shareholders, and other organizational stakeholders” (Cox 263). When a corporation practices proper ethics, it is representing not only itself in a positive manner, but its partners, shareholders, and clients as well. On the other hand, when an organization partakes in unethical activities, all parties are negatively affected. The collapse of Enron is a major case of unethical conduct in the corporate world, because the circumstances surrounding the firm’s chaotic plunge where so scandalous that it left “creditors wrangling over Enron's skeletal remains” (Helyar) long after the company had seen its demise. There are numerous instances to be mentioned, including deliberate failure to properly report fiscal losses, insider trading, and overall relentlessness. The inclusive purpose of this paper is to further explore the underlining factors that contributed to the downfall of the once powerful Enron, and how a new way of approaching business ethi...
Due to the Enron scandal, we now have laws such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in place to keep a similar event from reoccurring. As a result of SOX, top executives now had to individually certify the accuracy of financial data. It also increased the penalties for financial fraud. So what did we learn from Enron? Every company has duties to all of its stakeholders, not just to its shareholders. At Enron, executives made decisions that were both unethical and illegal. For a business to prosper, it all starts at the top. A strong leader has the vision and capability to get the company to where everyone wants to go. They must be able to provide the basis for people to achieve this goal. This will result in a healthy company culture which Enron did not have.
Aside from causing a major shift in geopolitical power, WWII also solidified the integral role oil played politically in national security. However, following the war the United States was no longer the world’s largest oil producer and was unable to maintain self-sufficiency as it had in the past. As a national security imperative oil was more important at this point than ever before. America’s war machine needed to be well oiled in case the new Cold War suddenly turned hot.
Fossil fuels have been proven to be damaging to our environment, economy and has made the United States vulnerable to dangerous and unstable countries by exporting the resources that they have. The U.S. depends on countries like Sadie Arabia for our oil supplies. How would we be affected if Sadie Arabia refused to sell us their oil? Would our oil reserves run out or would we be able to buy from another country? These are scenarios that we need to be concerned about. According to Rebecca Lefton and Daniel J. Weiss in their article “Oil Dependence Is a Dangerous Habit”, the U.S. has increased import of oil in the recent years, creating a bigger deficit in the United States. Our countries deficit has resulted in nationwide budget cuts. The continuation of oil imports with foreign countries is going to create an even larger debt in America. In 2008 our country spent around $150 Billion on oil imports alone (Lefton, R. & Weiss, D.J. (2014) Oil Dependence Is a Dangerous Habit. Retrieved from http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/green/report/2010/01/13/7200/oil-dependence-is-a-dangerous-habit/). Environmentally, the burning of fossil fuels have led to global warming. As most of us know, global warming can cause changes in our clim...
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The American Dream typically involves working hard to build up an organization, maintaining it well, and reaping the benefits. This vision most certainly drove the formation of the energy powerhouse known as the Enron Corporation. The company began as two average sized organizations and within 15 years emerged as America’s seventh largest company. The organization employed close to 21,000 staff members with locations in over 40 nations around the world. Unfortunately, this success was decimated by numerous scandals involved with accounting practices. From lies of profits to questionable dealings, such as concealing debts, the parties involved with running the company had made some fatal errors. The end result left Enron without creditors and investors, leading to the firm to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy (British Broadcasting Corporation, Enron Scandal at a Glance). The story of this once remarkable company is one that can be traced from the decisions made from its inception leading all the way to the much publicized trials that ensued.