Shocker: Neither Obama, McCain Nor The Federal Government Have A Plan In The Event Of An Oil Interruption - It Hasn't Even Been Discussed, Says Bestselling Investigative Author Edwin Black
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WASHINGTON, DC - September 22, 2008: It will come as a shock to most Americans and the media, but as the election reaches a crescendo on the issue of preparedness and energy, neither candidate—nor local, state or federal government—has developed a contingency plan in the event of an oil cut-off.
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“It is like seeing a hurricane developing without a disaster plan or evacuation route,” says Black. “But no one in government has even begun to prepare for a protracted oil shutdown. Our allies have oil shortage interruption contingency plans, but we haven’t even discussed it,” he says.
America uses approximately 20 million barrels of oil per day, 70 percent of which is imported, according to Black. “If we lose just 1 million barrels per day, or suffer the damage sustained from Katrina,” he says, “the government will open the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which offers a mere 6-8 week supply of unrefined crude oil. If we lose 1.5 million barrels per day, or approximately 7.5 percent, we will ask our allies in the 28-member International Energy Agency to open their SPRs and otherwise assist. If we lose 2 million barrels per day, or ten percent, government crisis monitors say the chaos will be so catastrophic they cannot even model it.”
If one, two or all of three vital chokepoints are hit by terrorists flying hijacked 747s or Iranian military action—the Abqaiq processing plant, the Ras Tanura terminal in Saudi Arabia, or the two-mile per sea lane Strait of Hormuz—as much as 40 percent of all seaborne oil be stopped, as much as 18 percent of all global supply will be interrupted, and from 12 to 20 percent of the U.S. supply be cut off. Estimates are the U.S. shortfall could be even higher. Yet there is no plan.
“It will be neighbor against neighbor,” warns Black, “as food shortages swell and a storm of economic collapse surges across the country. The experts have all warned about this for years. But the government and candidates refuse to even consider the possibility or develop a plan.”
The Plan by Edwin Black not only lays out the precise circumstances that could cause a protracted oil interruption, but also the step-by-step, week-by-week emergency plan to save the country. Measures include severe vehicle traffic reductions, alternative fuel production, mass vehicle retrofitting, rush public transit enhancement, and modifications of driving habits. “The Plan,” explains Black, “will be a very painful, multilayered program of immediate term, short-term, mid-term and long-term fixes that will change our society and transform it off oil.” Every lawmaker, every mayor, every governor and every candidate must develop a plan.
Black warns, “If the country waits until the disaster strikes—until the oil is shut off, we have little or no chance. If we start now, the day before, we can survive. How we start and when we start will define the degree of pain or success of this process.”
Edwin Black is embarking upon a 50-city, 300-event book and media tour commencing September 22, 2008. He is available for interviews and appearances. For prior book tours, http://www.edwinblack.com/tours.php .
www.edwinblack.com www.planforoilcrisis.com
Edwin Black is the award-winning, New York Times and international bestselling investigative author of 60 bestselling editions in 14 languages in 61 countries, as well as scores of newspaper and magazine articles in the leading publications of the United States, Europe and Israel. With a million books in print, his work focuses on genocide and hate, corporate criminality and corruption, governmental misconduct, academic fraud, philanthropy abuse, oil addiction, alternative energy and historical investigation. Editors have submitted Black's work ten times for Pulitzer Prize nomination, and in recent years he has been the recipient of a series of top editorial awards. He is the editor of TheCuttingEdgeNews.com, which receives more than 1.5 million visits monthly. His other award-winning books include: IBM and the Holocaust, The Transfer Agreement, War Against the Weak, Banking on Baghdad, Internal Combustion, Nazi Nexus, and a novel, Format C:.
