Energy Victory: Winning the War on Terror by Breaking Free of Oil - Hardcover

Zubrin, Robert

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1591025915 ISBN 13: 9781591025917

Publisher: Prometheus, 2007

Synopsis

In this compelling argument for a new direction in US energy policy, world-renowned engineer and best-selling author Robert Zubrin lays out a bold plan for breaking the economic stranglehold that the OPEC oil cartel has on our country and the world. Zubrin presents persuasive evidence that our decades-long relationship with OPEC has resulted in the looting of our economy, the corruption of our political system, and now the funding and protection of terrorist regimes and movements that are committed to our destruction.

Zubrin’s plan is straightforward and practical. He argues that if Congress passed a law requiring that all new cars sold in the USA be flex-fueled—that is, able to run on any combination of gasoline or alcohol fuels—this one action would destroy the monopoly that the oil cartel has maintained on the globe’s transportation fuel supply, opening it up to competition from alcohol fuels produced by farmers worldwide. According to Zubrin’s estimates, within three years of enactment, such a regulation would put 50 million cars on the road in the USA capable of running on high-alcohol fuels, and at least an equal number overseas. He further advocates tariff policies favoring alcohol over petroleum imports.

Energy Victory offers an exciting vision for a dynamic, new energy policy, which will not only go a long way toward safeguarding homeland security in the future but will also provide solutions for global warming and Third World development.
From the Trade Paperback edition.

About this title

From the Back Cover

"Americans are buying ammunition for their enemies every time they buy gas. Energy security is the way out of this dilemma and Dr. Zubrin has a plan to achieve it." Clifford D. May Syndicated columnist and president of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies "Robert Zubrin pulls no punches and moves effortlessly from a fascinating oil-centered take on WW II to making the mathematics of oil alternatives intelligible to lay readers. Oil and hydrogen take huge hits and alcohol fuels win big. Don't miss this one."

James Woolsey Former director of the Central Intelligence Agency "To win the war on terror, we need to remove the yoke of our oil dependence and cut the flow of petrodollars to regimes that spread radical Islam. Energy Victory is a bold, yet realistic plan to do just that. It is a vitally important book about the most critical issue we face today." Dr. Gal Luft Executive Director of the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security "In Energy Victory, Zubrin supplies a forceful plan to finally break oil's global stranglehold and seriously address world development. This is something we've really needed for some time. Washington should sit up and take notice." James P. Clark Chairman of the World Technology Network "Americans are finally becoming aware that energy isn't just an economic or environmental issue; it's a grave national security issue. It's long past time to stop bankrolling terrorism by transferring billions of dollars to unstable and corrupt regimes that just happen to be sitting on top of most of the world's petroleum. Energy Victory is an important, timely contribution to the debate over breaking the oil habit and achieving energy security." George Weigel Senior Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center and the author of Witness to Hope "Bob Zubrin is one of the smartest people I know. In Energy Victory he lays out a compelling case for the importance, and practicality, of winning the war on terror by making oil obsolete." Glenn Reynolds Columnist for Instapundit.com and Beauchamp Brogan Distinguished Professor of Law University of Tennessee "Robert Zubrin's Energy Victory highlights fuel choice in the transportation sector as a real-world option and imperative to reducing America's dependence on the petrostates that fund radical Islam. It is a compelling read." Anne Korin Executive Director of Set America Free Coalition and editor of Energy Security "In forcefully making the case for reducing US dependence on oil, Zubrin argues provocatively for a bio-fuel-based approach, suggesting benefits for international development that should command the attention of advocates, academics, and policymakers." Louis Putterman Professor of Economics, Brown University

From the Inside Flap

As prices at the pump ratchet up, the international oil cartel will continue to reap record profits. For the average American, this may simply seem to be simply a blow to the family budget. But what if much of the hundreds of billions of dollars consumers exchange for filling up their tanks went to funding terrorist organizations, terror-state nuclear weapons programs, and the indoctrination of legions of children to fanatical hatred? What if politicians, diplomats, and business leaders knowingly allowed these shocking relations to continue, all the while accepting stock options and partying it up with superrich foreign oil potentates? As long as America keeps running on gas, we will be paying for our own destruction.

In Energy Victory, world-renowned engineer and best-selling author Robert Zubrin exposes the scandalous state of energy affairs in America, and the political fakers and scientific charlatans who have for decades done little except to distract the public from truly practical alternatives to petroleum with shams and delusions: Hydrogen cars? They'd be impossible to fuel cost effectively. Conservation? It's a failing strategy so long as the enemy controls the only fuel. Zubrin's plan for energy victory is straightforward and practical. He argues that if Congress passed a law requiring that all new cars sold in the USA be flex-fueled--that is, able to run on any combination of gasoline or alcohol fuels--this one action would destroy the vertical monopoly that the oil cartel has maintained on the globe's transportation fuel supply. Within three years of enactment, such a regulation would put 50 million cars on the road in the USA capable of running on high-alcohol fuels, and at least an equal number overseas, stopping future petroleum price extortion by opening the fuel market up to competition from ethanol and methanol produced by farmers worldwide.

Instead of sending our fuel dollars as tribute to counties with ties to terrorism, we could be using them to help agriculture here and abroad, boosting our own economy and funding world development. Furthermore, by switching to alcohol fuels, which pollute less than gasoline and are made from plants that draw carbon dioxide from the air, this plan would facilitate the worldwide economic growth required to eliminate global poverty without the fear of greenhouse warming.

Energy Victory offers an exciting vision for a dynamic new energy policy, which will safeguard our liberties by truly winning the war on terror.

About this edition

• Publisher: Prometheus
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 1591025915
• ISBN 13: 9781591025917
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 336