This is the song that never ends. Yes, it goes on and on my friends....

At long last I'm going to post something about geology and oil!! I currently am a geologist studying to be a paleontologist. With that said...you can take my credibility on the topic as far as you want (meter to a mile).

We've all been told or heard that the world changed after 9/11, that the need or justification for pre-emptive strikes or wars was real. This was for the sake of 'national security'. Well...what really is national security? What are the limits to it and what do those two words encompass? Literally it can be defined as: a collective term for the defense and foreign relations of a nation-state, protection of the interests of a nation-state. As you can imagine this then opens the door for the justification of current US and allied actions around the world.

What if I told you that there's been a 100 year war in modern times? What if I told you that 9/11 didn't change a thing besides the American public's perspective? A perspective that was in need of change but now is exploited and perverse. Quoting one of the wiser men in earth's history. "...there is nothing new under the sun."

We'll get to the 100 year war in due time but first we have to understand the role resources play in a nation-state's growth and sustainment as well as the historical importance of relying on one main resource. It's not an old problem but for the sake of time and space limits I'll only go into three empires/nation-states who depended on one resource and whose aged infrastructure led to their ultimate demise as the world's leading power.

First up is the Dutch. From 1590 to roughly 1720 were THE trading empire. They were able to tame the sea abroad and at home by mastering hydrology and shipmaking. Much more than a resource the sea could be used as a defensive weapon as they could flood their own land by using their networks of dikes, hydraulics, and windmill driven infrastructure. The sea offered to them more than just wind and water. It offered them fish, salt, and whales. But it was wind that powered the flat breezy Holland. Wind powered paper mills and it powered the important hydrology infrastructure. However, the aging infrastructure gave way to the upcoming British and French. Why? Most historians would agree that the established technology was rigid...less likely to innovate and evolve while Britain had a ready supply of new fuel and a thing called the Industrial Revolution. The wind driven empire of the Dutch faltered in the rising shadow of the coal burning steam engines.

It was the readily available resource of coal and the knowledge of what to do with it that brought the British above the rest. History tells us the story of the British Empire. From the 1760's to the early 1900's the British Empire was one of the most notable empires in Earth's history. As with Holland's fate...such was Britain's. Their infrastructure aged and with time became too ingrained in its ways to change. By the end of the second World War the coal industry was nationalized and more a carcass of its old self...a bitter memory than a symbolism of British Power. Was there another power? Another fuel source and technology that took the British empire's throne? You needn't look that far. If you're in America...just look to your car.

I will continue with our place in this history...the 100 years war that hardly anyone is aware of and how the world hasn't changed pre 9\11 - post 9\11 in the next post. I leave you with a few quotes....

"Control energy and you control the nations." Henry Kissinger

"History repeats itself in outline, so the United States must find its own pathway. But the general parallel is the basis for worry." Kevin Phillips

Feenix