ABSTRACT
As has been made clear in the last several decades, the consumption of oil imported from opaque regimes exerts a tyrannical grip on the way of life in industrial societies. Most of the world's oil is, after all, under the control of autocratic despots. Major petro-states such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, and Venezuela, each in its own way, embrace a culture of violence. They suppress their citizens and unsettle their neighbors. This does not bode well for the future of the planet, for our fortunes depend on whether we can succeed in the responsible and sustainable development of the planet's largest hydrocarbon deposit. On the road to ultimate independence from oil, a necessary first step is to source oil from stable, transparent, accountable nation-states bound by the rule of law. Only they offer the possibility we might learn enough to significantly reduce the perils of climate change and enhance our capacity to adapt.
