Falling oil prices, bad for the environment good for democracy
The bad news about falling oil prices is that all alternative energy sources including the ones I invest with become less competitive. The good news about falling oil prices is that all those dictators or semi dictators who run oil exporting nations will have a hard time staying in power. Because as we know, other than Norway we don´t seem to have nations that combine oil exporting with non corrupt, well managed democratic systems.
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Posted on Micro | 2:38 am
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Posted by Andres B - November 24, 2008 2:49 am - #
Maybe I’m being preposterous and/or short-sighted, but you’re forgetting that Mexico is one of the main oil exporters and its democracy, while far from Norway’s correctness and transparency, is getting better with time.
At least this isn’t a pesudo-dictatorship as Venezuela is.
Posted by Lasse Enersen - November 24, 2008 8:05 am - #
Oil prices will definitelly go back up again, and it will boost governments to spend more money on green tech. Hopefully green energy will be less corrupt than the retro lo-fi energy.
Posted by Martin Varsavsky - November 24, 2008 11:22 am - #
@ Andres B:
Well I am sorry but Mexico and I don´t mean to offend anyone, is hardly an example of transparency in government and I do think that oil money increases the opportunity for corruption. I wrote an article on how I was mugged by the Mexican police in my latest trip to Cancun. But we can agree that Venezuela is worse.
Posted by Andres B - November 24, 2008 3:51 pm - #
Heh, so I was being preposterous, then.
No offense, saludos de un cordooobés.