Renewable Energy’s Connection to Peace and Freedom

During the holiday season, we talk a great deal about peace: world peace, the Prince of Peace, and so forth — all good things. But isn’t it a shame that, in large measure, we trot these concepts out at Christmas, only to go back to beating the holy hell out of one another during the balance of the year?

For a moment, ponder the connection between world peace and renewable energy. At first, this may sound like a concept from the 1960s.  But in truth, our dependence on oil empowers tyranny all around the world, while simultaneously hastening the destruction of our lives here in the U.S. As James Woolsey (four presidential appointments, including director of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency) told me:

If you look at the 22 countries that count on two-thirds or more of their national income from oil, it’s fair to say all 22 of those countries are autocratic kingdoms or dictatorships. There are about 120 democracies in the world, I mean not perfect, but with regular elections — and another 20 countries like Bahrain that are reasonably well and decently governed, even though not democratically so. And then you’ve got 40 really bad guys. And I’m pretty sure that the 22 are virtually all from the list of 40 bad guys — or “Not Free,” in Freedom House’s terms.

If you care about peace and freedom, you care about renewable energy.