In 1945 Franklin Roosevelt worked out a deal with the king of Saudi Arabia. America got unlimited access to Saudi Oil, and in return, the U.S. protected the Royal Family against its enemies. Now that special relationship is under fire. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, the politics of oil and the energy of the future.
International security expert Michael Klare tells Jim Fleming that the war in Afghanistan has its roots in Saudi Arabian oil. He says the U.S. is pledged to support the Saudi royal family, and that they must begin to democratize the country. Klare is a defense analyst at Hampshire College in Massachusetts and the author of "Resource Wars: The New Landscape of Global Conflict."SEGMENT 2:
Journalist Ken Wiwa is the son of executed Nigerian activist Ken Saro-Wiwa, and the author of "In the Shadow of a Saint." He tells Steve Paulson about his father's protest against the influence of oil money in Nigeria, and what it was like to grow up in his dominating presence. Also, two takes on the question of whether or not the world's supply of oil is drying up. Princeton's Ken Defeyyes says production has peaked. Danish statistician Bjorn Lomborg says that's just crying wolf.SEGMENT 3:
Doug Gordon presents his own unique solution to keeping thing moving after the oil runs out. Also, Daniel Kammen, director of the Renewable and Appropriate Energy Lab at the University of California/Berkeley tells Anne Strainchamps about some wild energy alternatives that actually work. You can find Kammen's lab on the Web at http://socrates.berkeley.edu/~rael.Cassette copies are available at 1-800-747-7444. Ask for program number 01-12-23-A.
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