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domingo, outubro 22, 2006
Friedman On the New Patriotism
We are in a war on terrorism, funded and fueled by our energy purchases. We are funding both sides -- our own troops with our tax dollars, and Islamic jihad, Iran, and Hamas with our gas purchases. But we rarely connect the dots. In short, our consumption of energy is related to the geopolitical predicament we’re in.
The World is flat. With the emergence of China and India as economic powers, three billion new consumers walked on the playing field. They can not only compete, connect and collaborate with our kids, but they all want what we want: a car, fridge, PC, and printer. If we don’t find an alternative to fossil fuels, our combined consumption of energy will smoke up this planet even faster than Al Gore predicts.
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The first law of petropolitics is that the price of oil and pace of freedom operate in inverse correlation. Petroauthoritarian countries are dependent on oil for GDP. As prices rise, freedom collapses. It’s no surprise that the first Arab country to run out of oil -- Bahrain –- is one of the most progressive regimes in the region.
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Ultimately, Friedman says, his main mission is to to redefine green. To name something is to own it. (i.e. The world is flat.) The problem with the word green, he points out is that it it was appropriated by people who hate it. Who equated it with something girly , sissy, liberal, and vaguely French.
His plan: to make “green” stand for something geopolitically astute, progressively capitalistic, and patriotic: “Green,” he says, “is the new red, white and blue. “...
Pop!Tech: Friedman On the New Patriotism
1 Comments:
"Thomas L. Friedman on his new movie, Big Oil, Zarqawi's death and comparing General Motors to a crack dealer.", http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13231593
