The latest news regarding the military build-up in the Persian Gulf highlights the growing concern for eco-friendly military personnel the whole world over. At current rates of expenditure, the fuel that is the life-blood of our industry will soon run out.
Of course, it is tempting to think that by invading Iran we will soon get a huge 5* top-up to our tanks' tanks, but think again, ship-mates ! The total amount of petrol in the world isn't simply going to increase. The total amount will remain the same, except that we will have used another big chunk of it in fighting the war.
And the amounts that are used in war are humungous. Estimates (from a US DoD contractor) are that a soldier in action in Iraq is consuming 16 gallons per day, and the US Army/Navy/Air Force/Marines are burning 340 000 barrels all told, about 30 000 barrels for every dead Iraqi, or $ 3 M each. This makes killing Iraqis far more expensive than killing Japanese and Germans civilians was during the Second World War, where the eventual cost was about $ 5000 per person at then-current prices. That was still the equivalent of an upper-middle class annual salary back then. Even the nuclear bomb did not help the numbers much, although 200 000 civilians were killed at the cost of about $ 1Billion, making a per cadaver cost of $ 5000, same as for a fleeet of aluminium-skinned bombers like the B-27 or Lancaster. Of course, the most cost-effective bomber of the war - and fighter, and recce plane - the wooden-framed Mosquito would have had a much lower average cost, but military technology and tactics that never caught on is another blog site waiting to be written, to be filled with exciting stories of the longbow in Europe, co-operation between tanks and other arms, the raison d'être for separate air, sea and land forces etc.
Back to the real problem - if civvies use up all our gas, from where are we going to draw our POL rations ? Recent estimates of traditional (so called Crude Oil) proven oil reserves are of 64 years, with additional sources in the unconventional category - shales, oil sands, bio etc. Even so, it is not too dificult to work out that long before the oil runs out completely there will be problems in utilisation. Even if oil is short by only 10 %, it will have a major impact on minority sports like drag racing, stock car derbies, and war. For the brown shoes, treasure hunts, taking the Daimler to Ascot, and war.
My biggest concern is our children. What is going to happen to them, if they grow up in a world where there's no gas ? It will be like Patton on the Rhine, or Rommel at el Alamein. An Army may march on its stomach, but its food is delivered in petrol-tankers. With no petrol, it will be like Rommel in the Argonne forest watching his lunch run off on the back of some shrapnel-startled ass.
The Sustainable Warrior calls on all war professionals to take action.
The Sustainable Warrior
Serious about Sustainability. Deadly serious.
