Spoiled oil

Just how important is oil to our little eco-system?  Not that much, says John Quiggin. 
Perhaps taking the word of Saudi princes and assorted enterprises, or the blonde bathers of Azerbaijan, was not such a wise idea?  

Quote Quiggin:

'If oil is a commodity of modest importance, why does it loom so large in the thinking of U.S. policymakers and the general public? The answer, undoubtedly is the memory of the OPEC oil embargo imposed in retaliation for U.S. support of Israel during the Yom Kippur war of 1973. This shock was followed by months of queues and rationing, and by the double-digit inflation and high unemployment of the late 1970s.

Given this sequence of events, it was easy to conclude that control over oil exports is a powerful weapon in the hands of the OPEC states, and that shocks to the supply and price of oil represent a major cause of economic crises. Neither of these conclusions was correct at the time, and any validity they once had is long gone.'

Indeed.