The New 'Sputnik' Challenges: They All Run on Oil - New York Times

I'm going to break with a house rule here and actually link to something that lives behind the Times Select firewall.

Two house rules, actually... as it's a column by Tom Friedman, aka Captain Obvious.

But this particular one pulls some ideas together in a particularly useful way (read: for once, I agree with Tom) and you might want to get your hands on it if the topic interests you.

The topic is "oil."

Excerpt:

Friends, we are in the midst of an energy crisis...

First, we are in a war against a radical, violent stream of Islam that is fueled and funded by our own energy purchases. We are financing both sides in the war on terrorism: the U.S. Army with our tax dollars, and Islamist charities, madrasas and terrorist organizations through our oil purchases.

Second, the world has gotten flat, and three billion new players from India, China and the former Soviet Union just walked onto the field with their version of the American dream: a house, a car, a toaster and a refrigerator. If we don't quickly move to renewable alternatives to fossil fuels, we will warm up, smoke up and choke up this planet far faster than at any time in the history of the world. Katrina will look like a day at the beach.

Third, because of the above, green energy-saving technologies and designs - for cars, planes, homes, appliances or office buildings - will be one of the biggest industries of the 21st century. Tell your kids. China is already rushing down this path because it can't breathe and can't grow if it doesn't reduce its energy consumption. Will we dominate the green industry, or will we all be driving cars from China, Japan and Europe?

Finally, if we continue to depend on oil, we are going to undermine the whole democratic trend that was unleashed by the fall of the Berlin Wall. Because oil will remain at $60 a barrel and will fuel the worst regimes in the world - like Iran - to do the worst things for the world. Indeed, this $60-a-barrel boom in the hands of criminal regimes, and just plain criminals, will, if sustained, pose a bigger threat to democracies than communism or Islamism. It will be a black tide that turns back the democratic wave everywhere, including in Iraq.

If anybody finds a non-firewalled link to this piece, please let me know. I haven't turned anything up (yet.)

The New 'Sputnik' Challenges: They All Run on Oil - New York Times