America's Oil Addiction: from Standard Oil to OPEC to Bandar Bush

It all began with John D. Rockefeller, owner of a small produce commission business who saw a good thing in the refinery business. Along with his partner at the time and two other men, he formed Clark & Rockefeller and built an oil refinery in 1863. At this time, petroleum was used mainly to supply kerosene but it was a lucrative business. In 1870 Standard Oil was formed, and through shrewd and creative means it became the most profitable oil refinery business in the country, eventually owning 90% of the market for kerosene products.

However, in 1879 along came Thomas Edison and the electric light lamp which greatly replaced the need for kerosene because of its cost and ease of use. Fortunately for Rockefeller, along came Oldsmobile in 1902 and then Ford in 1914 with the mass production of the automobile. The beginning of America's love for the automobile. Of course, it was Standard Oil that greatly supplied this addiction, even to this day after the anti-trust bust through its successors such as Exxon, Mobil, Chevron etc., or "baby standards."

But it wasn't until the 1950s that the production of the automobile really took off. In a few short years production had jumped some twenty-percent and America's love of the automobile and its addiction to oil had begun in earnest. This addiction to oil became clear when the Bushs gave the name Bandar Bush to Prince Bandar bin Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud who was Saudi ambassador to the U.S. from 1983 to 2005. Of course someone so connected to oil would certainly encourage a friendship with an oil loving family in its own right.

Even with the finding of oil out west in Texas (where many "experts" at one time said oil would not be found) America was able to produce enough oil through the 50s and 60s. However, it wasn't long before she had to turn to OPEC and the realization of America's dependence and its ensuing problems became all too evident.

In 1973, OAPEC (Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries--Arab members of OPEC and Egypt and Syria) proclaimed an oil embargo because of U.S. supply of the Israeli military during the Yom Kippur War. Even though that crisis passed, in 1979 when the Shah of Iran fled and Ayatollah Khomeini took over it created great instability in the Middle East affecting gas prices greatly in return.

Along with the Persian Gulf War and subsequent wars and skirmishes, America's tenuous hold on foreign gas supply has created, of course, great concern for many.  But even if we are able to obtain an uninterrupted flow of oil, how long will it last?

Well, that depends on how much oil has yet to be discovered, where it is, the possibility of increased consumption (coming especially from economically rising countries such as India and China), how accurate the estimates of current oil reserves are, most or which (56%) lie in the Middle East  (according to the International Energy Agency, there are doubts about the reliability of official OPEC reserves estimates, which are not provided with any form of audit or verification that meet external reporting standards), and on and on.

Bottom line, many experts believe that we have in the range of 25 to 40 years left before the supply runs out. Not much time in terms of the effect it will have on not only the U.S. but the world. Alternative solutions have arrived and many have begun to see them as not just fanciful ideas but essential alternatives.

But the question is will it be too late for the U.S.? Many know that overcoming an addiction does not work itself out in a matter of weeks or months. It may take years, but do we as a nation realize just how much time we have before it's too late?