Will peak oil spark the third world war?

I've seen a few posts here to this effect but nothing by the way of a dedicated thread. I'm not talking end of the world here, but WWIII. With resources deminishing its evident that in order to get hands on oil, someone is gunna have to fight for it. With eyes now on Iran, Syria and even Venezuela (?!?!?), it may not be long before the superpowers have to fight each other to invade oil rich countries. Could we be on the brink of the third World War? Are we already in it?

[edit on 4/10/2005 by darwinman1]

One word answer.

Yes.

I will bet you cash money that it will have 'something' to do with it.....


.......................just sayin

[edit on 10-4-2005 by theRiverGoddess]

Oil to spark the third world war? Yes, possibly. Need for oil, not "peak oil". There isn´t "peak oil" yet. There is more oil and gas to be found...

I think it will be like the former Soviet Union. Superpowers will have multiple satellite countries that are rich in oil. Each country will be controlled by a motherland, U.S. or another superpower but might still have a slight sense of autonomy.

I will put my money on it, yes it will probably be a war on oil control, we already started.

After all the sacrifice of a few will make up for the benefit of others, at least that is what the leaders of the superpowers of the world seems to be thinking lately.

ive been thinking that it could spark a WW for some time now. but then all the oil that the countries would use for the war would make it an oxymoron

The war has already started. Right now countries are positioning their armies to control the oil chokepoints.

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Here is an example of China looking for energy resources and America and Japan strengthening their military ties becasue of China's aggressiveness.

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Even if some country wins the WW and controls all the oil, the oil is still going to run out some time. Unless they start searching for better sources of energy, all they're doing by waging a war is delaying their inevitable demise.

I agree. The ever-increasing disparity between decreasing world oil supply and decreasing wold oil demand could only mean a few (very bad) things:
The have/have not paradigm will become increasingly relevant and applicable to the worlds population. I think that this is mostly true when it comes to oil, but as economies crumble and we lose the ability to grow enough food to feed the worlds population, those who have not oil also have not food and also have not the guns to get the oil to get the food.

It probably will happen. Only not this soon, oil is still being found. I think switching energy sources would be so much easier though.... Also, I think this War on Terror was originally for the oil.

[edit on 11-4-2005 by MooMix3]

Whether or not it is real, they will sell the notion to the public, or the left specifically, adn they'll tell the mainstream public whatever, and go about business as usual.

Venezuela already knows.

They recently ordered 100,000 ak-47s. And Rumsfeld didn't seem too at ease about it. We tried to install a puppet regime there long ago, but like all of them, they're going to turn against us.

I also remember reading something about the president of Venezuela warning the US not to interfere with them, threatening to cut off oil exports. Mainly after the whole Iraq situation and a similar ring to the entire thing (ie. US/C.I.A establishes foreign client state, they misbehave, US smacks them down, repeat)

I had a link from the associated press about Rumsfeld mentioning the entire matter but its been deleted (marvelous).

edit:
"Documents show c.i.a knew of a coup plot in Venezuela"
query.nytimes.com... 8CDDAB0994DC404482

[edit on 11-4-2005 by benign]

[edit on 11-4-2005 by benign]

It seems we are already fighting a war on multiple fronts. We're not the only ones. It seems things are about to get really bad (reads: worse than they already are). We're 9 bucks a barrel short of a full on economic landslide, one attack from full-scale war. What happens when one of the nations we attack attack OUR homeland?

Originally posted by Taishyou
Even if some country wins the WW and controls all the oil, the oil is still going to run out some time. Unless they start searching for better sources of energy, all they're doing by waging a war is delaying their inevitable demise.

Precisely.
The big waste that's involved here is that we have the technology to produce self-renewing sources of oil...The US produces a large percentage of the world's food supply & most of that can be used to produce oils at nearly every level of texture & flamability that petrolium oils have. This is only one potential source for oil.
So why don't we start using these resources by gearing up for larger-scale production? One word...Money. The Oil Barons want to squeeze every drop (so to speak) of profit they can get, even at the cost of our nation's youth (in war), the nation's international reputation & even the effects it has on our overall economy. What effect on our economy be if we could start supplying alternative oils as trade to other countrys? What about the political leverage this could represent in foreign policy?

...See what I mean? The politicos are only listening to the Oil Corps & ignoring the potential for national benefit...Instead, they only listen to what personal benefits they can get from their own corporate sponsors.

Okay, good points. But sooner or later oil is going to run out. This hydrocarbon-fueled manifest destiny can't last forever. IMHO we already hit peak oil, now is the time for those big companies to lay the groundword for the post-oil society. Those that do will be rolling in that word--money.
In the meantime, I'm gunna stock up on spam and bullets and head meself to the mountains to wait out the coming self-destruction of the human race.
(

To those who think the Iraq war was about getting the oil, it was not.

The war is to crush off "excess refining capacity," and to raise prices. I mean duh already, is it not so?

Yes we are reaching a problem with "Peak Oil," and how Hegelian it is, or how sweet it is for the people who bought Petroleum companies with financial tricks, oh yes those "robber barons." The usual method is to deliver an "ultimatum," with the IMF buying your oil real estate and refineries for pennies on the dollar, while giving the local dictator some pin money in a Swiss Bank. The alternative is simple, a war that these leaders cannot win. Oh but don't worry, while you destroy lots of refineries or production capacity through that sucker punch, guess who is on the receiving end down the line? You are, because you pay for such deliberately induced monopoly mechantilism.

This Peak Oil and hippie stuff that goes with it, all the greens, all the Greenpeace groups, are simply falling into the false right left paradigm and letting the wealth of the people drop like ripe apples into the pockets of the very few. And by the way, who sponsors these ecology groups anyway? You guessed it, people such as the Rockefellers, the Ford Foundation etc. etc.

Get over it already, Peak Oil is another hula hoop for crowd appeasement, a strategy for illiterates who know nothing about actual oil reserves or how production capacity tactics and strategy make scarce the fact of abundance.

[edit on 4-5-2005 by SkipShipman]

This Peak Oil and hippie stuff

Since when is Peak Oil considered "hippie stuff"? I never even heard the theory until I took a Macro Economics course... if Peak Oil is all a scam as you have stated in the past that would make every single person in the Oil Industry a lying sack of you know what. Most Economist's and Investment Guru's I am associated with are convinced Peak Oil is coming, the only thing they disagree on is when it's going to happen. Going about and spewing stuff like some sort of authority or some such isn't going to win that many people over to your point of view you know, you gotta provide PROOF! And those of us who know how to do MATH will know that we are heading into a dead end, and the speed we are travelling is speeding up.

Get over it already, Peak Oil is another hula hoop for crowd appeasement, a strategy for illiterates who know nothing about actual oil reserves or how production capacity tactics and strategy make scarce the fact of abundance.

If that is true then how come the mainstream news barely touches the subject then? And calling people a bunch of illiterates is not a way to get your point across. Methinks you know nothing about Oil Reserves or infact how Physics works for that matter

Peak Oil is not about running out of oil, it's about the economic viability of extracting it and projections for future economic growth caused by this.

The big point is not whether it is true or not (and most evidence suggests it is) but the fact that if you observe geopolitical activities most governments are acting as if it is a factual truth.

They believe its happening and are acting in accordance with this belief.

Agreed. I think "Peak Oil" is more of an economic term than anything else (if not solely so). There will come a time when production will actually peak (if it has not already). Its obvious that gone are the times when Jed can strike bubblin' crude with a shotgun blast. Quite the opposite, actually. I woke up this morning to a radio talk show talking about deep-sea drilling. The person being interviewed (sorry, I don't remember the show or guest) proposed that less than 1% of deep sea sources have been tapped or even explored. Although this may give hope to relieving "peak oil" woes, it does go to show that we are going farther and deeper to get to the good stuff. The costs of deep sea drilling are far greater than land drilling, while the returns are less predictable. Essentially, greater cost, less benefit.