General Cycling Discussion - PetroTerrorism? Long

Some of you may have seen this circulating around the web as an email. It was forwarded to me by a friend after being sent to a huge list. For those of us concerned about the limited supply of gasoline, terrorism in the world and the use of bicycles as a good alternative to cars, here's some info. that makes you rethink some of our choices. Makes riding a bike even more patriotic if this is all true.
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Here's the message:

Not vouching for the numbers here...just throwing this out
to see what you think....

We, as Americans, travel by car. The automobile is big part of our culture and our automobiles run on gasoline. Nothing is more frustrating than the feeling that every time you fill-up your tank, you am sending your hard earned money to people who are trying to destroy your culture, trying to kill you, your family, and your friends.

You see, some oil companies import a lot of middle eastern oil and the money we pay for that refined oil as gasoline, goes back into the hands of those governments and easily finds it's way into the pockets of fanatics who are supporting world terrorism. But, there are other companies that do not import any middle eastern oil.

It might be interesting for Americans to know which oil companies do the most business and which companies do the least business with our so-called friends in the Middle East.

Here is the list:

Top 4 companies that import middle eastern oil (for the period 9/1/00 - 8/31/01).
By the way, 86% of all middle eastern oil comes from Saudi Arabia and Iraq.


Shell 205,742,000 barrels
Chevron/Texaco 144,332,000
Exxon/Mobil 130,082,000
Marathon 117,740,000

If you do the math at $30/barrel, these imports amount to about $18 billion.

That's a lot of money in the hands of someone like Saddam Hussein. A lot of money for chemical and nuclear weapons research. Weapons of mass destruction that someday may be aimed at us.

Here are some large companies that import the least middle eastern oil:

Citgo 0 barrels of oil
Sunoco 0
Conoco 0
Sinclair 0
Phillips 0
BP Amoco 62,231,000

This information is available from the Department of Energy and is documented. Check it out for yourself. Refineries located in the US are required to state where they get their oil from and how much they are importing. They report on a monthly basis.

Keep this list in your car, share it with friends. The next time your tank hits E, think about where you buy your gas, where the money goes after you fill up! There's another gas station just down the road. Stop supporting terrorism!

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RIDE A BIKE INSTEAD! - bikeman

Very interesting, Bikeman. Thanks for the info.

I usually put the cheapo brands in my 3 cylinder automobile, (Pay-Less, Duke, Clark etc.). I wonder if there is a cross reference as to which large companies they buy from?

I called my wife from work today. "Come and get me," I communicated. "I don't feel like riding home today."

When I pulled the car into the driveway, in spite of the ease and comfort with which I made it all 14 miles of the way home, I felt instinctively how wasteful a trip it had been.

And that was just for me. Multiply my waste by the number of cars on the road today, in every city. All the way home in traffic I kept thinking, "I wonder how much fuel this river of traffic is sucking down, day after day, week after week?"

It isn't sustainable, is it? Things could change sooner than any of us might care to think.

Tonight on the Discovery Channel, there was a little blurb that said each year, it is estimated that Americans spend $100 BILLION (yes, Billion!) a year in "wasted time and fuel spent waiting in traffic!"

When I ride my bike, I not only don't waste fuel, but my time is spent getting a workout for my body and mind. And I had never thought about it, but maybe I am doing my own little thing to help fight terrorism!

Ride on!!

All very well!

But do you think this retoric will have any affect on "car culture victims"

I doubt it....

We can start by working on our politicians to vote in favor of stricter fuel economy standards for light duty trucks, higher gasoline prices, and bicycle- and pedestrian-friendly highway engineering. A small group of well-informed, articulate, outspoken people can have a huge impact on society. Start locally, and work your way up.

Originally posted by willic
...do you think this retoric will have any affect on "car culture victims"
Are you willing, by your silence, to allow someone whose views are opposed to yours steal your place of influence?

Anyway, it makes me feel better! ;)

This is no news to me. However, I doubt it will make any difference. Most people drive because they are simply too lazy to get out of their own way. Patriotism, getting fat or anything else you can think of is not going to change their minds.

The religious fanatics will look like naughty schoolboys in comparison with the environmental problems, which expect us if the global climate is pushed off balance.

If the global warming proves to be true, then the snow and ice on poles may start thawing. First would go Maldives, as these islands are only 1 meter above ocean water level. Then Netherlands and UK. Millions of educated(!) refugees may pour in other countries creating unimaginable yet problems.

Oil and coal were created by Life. Life tied the carbon from the air, moving balance in favor of oxygen. This process took billions of years. It still slowly goes on. However much faster process appeared on the geo scale. It is uncontrolled frenzy of burning fossil fuel.

Just some decades ago, it was just about five hundred million people in the developed world, who participated in the intensive fossil fuel burning. The rest were still using bow and arrows, speaking figuratively.

Internet, satellite TV, cheap paperbacks brought knowledge to wider masses around the world. Nowadays several billion of people happily drive cars. I speak only of cars, as the power of cars' engines exceeds times the power of electric generators.

The lazy luxury seems to be invincible. However it does not mean that no one shall be trying to notice new realities.

I would think of limiting the weight of a private car to about 2000 pounds, creating alternative transportation systems like mass transit and bike trails, guarded bike parking lots, etc. The cost of construction may be covered by the heavier taxes on cars.