Michael KlareCWR co-host Francesca Rheannon speaks with Hampshire College Professor Michael Klare about his new book, Rising Powers, Shrinking Planet: The New Geopolitics of Energy. Klare defines the term “resource nationalism,” whereby access to energy increasingly drives global politics. For example, the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline runs from the Caspian Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, through Georgia, thereby circumventing Russia. In the interview conducted last week, Klare predicted possible conflict over energy access between Russia and Georgia, ensnaring the US. As this episode of CWR was in production, Georgian officials announced they are “very close” to war with Russia. Klare ends the interview suggesting renewable energies as a solution for diverting energy access from conflict to peace.
Jodie Van Horn of the Rainforest Action Network analyzes biofuels, which divert agriculture from food to fuel, spurring food riots globally and driving deforestation.
