Derrick Mallard is president of the Citizens Association to Save the Environment. by Derrick Mallard Special to The Review - As I write this, 28 hours before the likely onset of war, I am filled with trepidation. As a member of the Royal Air Force from 1939) to 1946 I luckily survived. Some of that time was spent in the desert where, without foliage or any other cover, targets could be ‘well pinpointed and. annihilated from the air On the ground, under bomb and machine gun air attacks, my men, my friends, screamed to bloody deaths. I have wiped their blood and flesh off my uniform and cursed the fiends who originated such authorized murder. Yet, I too murdered. For almost half a century those awful memories have been vir- tually suppressed, now, they flood back over and through me and once again I find it difficult to accept the authorization of death and destruction. This time, though there may be similarities between Saddam Hus- sein and Hitler, this war will be, without doubt, over oil. Last year, the U.S. department of energy stated their indigenous proven reserves.of oil would be exhausted by the end of this decade. (Excludes U.S. “strategic reserves’). The figure for Canada _ is reputed to be 12 years to exhaus- tion. Even now, Canada is import- ing oil, these imports will increase during this decade. : ' About 58 per cent of the world’s oil reserves are located: in-the = Middle East, in Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates. 1987 data indicates the major single export destinations for petroleum and petroleum products from the Middle East were Japan and the U.S.A. It is inevitable then that the US.A. desires to establish a pres- ence in the Middle East to protect what it sees as its future and major oil supplies. A supply which is the life blood of its economic indus- trial system. It is also a vital industrial component for the developed European countries, and certainly for Canada. TheReview Wednesday, February 6,1991 — A23 Our obligation is to reduce oil consumption Oil is the world’s leading trad- ing commodity, resulting in huge monetary flows which in turn help to determine the stability of the world’s financial and monetary system. Thus, disruptions in the availa- bility and supply of oil can cause economic havoc in addition to creating a climate for manipula- tion. Furthermore the multi- national oil/petrochemical indus- tries and their financial cohorts have more lobbying power in the halls of governments than any other sector of economic activity. Put simply, with most of our eggs in-an oil derived basket we put ourselves in jeopardy until such time we reduce our reliance on it. So far, there is no evidence we intend to reduce that dependency. on the oil drug, It appears we will spread blood and guts across the desert sands to maintain that oil based economy. Transportation demands a huge portion of total consumed oil. Yet, we still continue a love-in with the four-wheeled dinosaur. We all know too, that railway transportation is one of the most efficient methods of transporting goods and people in relation to energy units consumed per tonne Or per passenger mile. Nationally, we have massively : cut back on our rail systems, forcing more vehicles on our high- ways, thereby increasing oil con- sumption, gaseous emissions too! These emissions will ensure we continue to pollute our atmosphere causing the ultimate dire conse- quences of global warming. Provincially, highways are being expanded at horrendous cost, to permit a greater density of vehi- cles and add to oil consumption. In the transportation planning process we have failed to incorpor- ate resource conservation into the study equations, and have misera- bly failed to consider gascous emissions and global warming. It is not only governments who fail to plan conservation. We, the public, do not concern ourselves and fail to behave as conservation- ists. Soe Should it be suggested for instance, to the Teamsters Union, that all long distance freight trans- port be carried by rail instead of trucks, there could be vicious A band, of dmoneds. that says youd marry. her all over aga. racers juucllers 2403 Beacon Avenue Sidney, B.C. 655-1515 y) strikes. To reduce daily car commuting by, let’s say 50 per cent, would have an impact on the automobile industry. Cars would last longer, sales would decrease, the service arm of this industry would be ‘reduced. To put it mildly, we could have more economic problems. Are we afraid to move to resource energy efficient mass transit systems? Are we afraid to reduce our reliance on oil, to make changes to our affluent lifestyles? We must begin to bite the future, to reduce our dependence on oil, to plan for the alternatives, to search out and incorporate other areas of activity for employment that are not dependent on oi! and its derivatives. During the cross-Canada public discussions and meetings on the federal Green Plan, the avocation toward stimulating public transit systems was quite forceful. The recently issued eventual government version of the Green Plan has deleted the recommenda- tions for emphasis on public trans- port systems. It is therefore pat- ently obvious the government intends we continue with and expand our oil-based economy. We have round table discussions on the environment and economy, Sve TOD Howes LtD. floues OR THE PUTURE 9210 E. 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