George Bush’S Great America [EN]: Chapter 20

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‘Have you ever seen such a crazy son of a bitch? Asking us to develop new technology in just two years, what the hell is that?’

This was the common sentiment among oil and drilling companies.

The problem was the amount of shale that kept emerging as they continued their investigations. The large-scale geological surveys, initiated in Texas by presidential decree, had spread throughout the United States, and the more they investigated, the more unusual the quantities became.

What is Oil Shale? To properly understand and assess it, one has to rewind the gears of history quite a bit. Everyone knows that petroleum is a legacy left by our cute dinosaur friends, so let’s skip the details. But shale layers are a gift from ancient aquatic plant friends, like seaweed, not dinosaurs. Just like coal.

Also called oil shale or kerogen shale, it contains organic matter such as kerogen and also includes ash content.

To put it simply for those who hate complicated things, it’s like saying, ‘It’s petroleum made of plants, so it’s full of weird stuff!’ The oil in this shale layer is called ‘Oil Shale,’ and when it is extracted, it is called ‘Tight Oil.’

Anyway, the reason why it is difficult to extract this tight oil from the shale layer is that the layer is located very deep underground. Even after extraction, it has to go through a refining process, which is far more profound and complex than that of ordinary crude oil.

Just explaining it like this is boring enough, so how annoying would it be to do it yourself?

Anyway, back to the perspective of the companies, investigations into shale layers had been underway to some extent by oil companies since the 1980s. However, when the estimated cost exceeded $80 per barrel, everyone turned away. The United States was excessively vast, and crude oil was buried endlessly, so the word ‘abundant’ was fitting. In other words, the United States had no need to go crazy trying to extract oil shale.

But that was now an old story, like the glory days that old people talk about, and as the days went by, the places where oil needed to be used increased, and to make matters worse, the number of people the country had to support steadily increased, so oil prices soared. In short, demand was uncontrollably high, but supply was low.

As a result, once sufficient economic feasibility was secured, the dusty documents that had been buried in filing cabinets were brought to light once again. But, oh my goodness, how could there be so much?

North America. Oil shale was concentrated in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming, and it was clear to anyone that if all of this could be extracted, a low oil price era would arrive. Of course, oil was oil, but look at all this shale gas. Who on earth would refuse to drill the shale layer?

Shale gas still lagged behind coal to some extent, but it was clear to anyone that it would soon completely surpass coal consumption in the near future.

The problem was that the government abandoned perfectly good existing technology and proposed the development of strange new technology.

‘What are we supposed to do with LPG [Liquefied Petroleum Gas]?’

This was also everyone’s common thought. A few quick-witted people or those who were originally engaged in this field knew what this meant, but at least most people couldn’t properly understand why these conditions were imposed, so they grabbed their heads and groaned. In the end, they had to come up with merger plans for some small and medium-sized drilling companies or engage in technological alliances.

But there were also companies that didn’t.

For example, giant oil companies like ExxonMobil, Chevron, and ConocoPhillips.

‘Shall we push it through with lobbyists?’

After all, they could just buy the land, and if they slowly scratched with lobbyists, even that arrogant and haughty president wouldn’t be able to touch them. What a load of crap. No matter how much they coaxed and appeased the landowner, if the president screwed the landowner over, it was over. Rules? Laws? What good were they? The landowner might be changed by the next day.

Anyway, their common point was that, unlike other oil companies, they had already made some progress in research on hydraulic fracturing [a method of extracting oil and gas by injecting high-pressure fluid into shale rock].

Why abandon good existing technology and ask them to research new technology?!

No! Water pollution, ground subsidence, or earthquakes. What’s the big deal?

Then should they tell drilling companies not to mine rare earth elements either! The environmental pollution is just as bad! And what about trees? Don’t they produce enormous amounts of carbon dioxide when burned? Why don’t we all just go back to the primitive era and live without fire? Oh, the hypocrisy is so extreme that even Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde would be dumbfounded and slap their faces!

Well, in fact, it seemed logical at first glance, but there is such a thing as ‘essential and optional.’ Firewood goes without saying, and rare earth elements were indispensable for maintaining modern civilization. However, as long as the perfect alternative technology of gas fracturing existed, hydraulic fracturing was merely a good excuse to represent their ambition and interests.

Moreover, whether they were angry or not, George W. Bush had already made it clear that he would not allow any methods other than gas extraction, and he gleefully gave them a deadline. Two years? Two years! Oh my god. It wasn’t a matter of the company’s survival, but at least if development was delayed and bidding was delayed, the company’s position itself might be pushed down to the level of a small business.

That’s how powerful shale was. Perhaps the country that held this would control the world’s hegemony. But what if the country that already held world hegemony got this?

What happens if the most powerful country in the world gets even more power?

* * *

Pax Americana! That one word drove the EU into anxiety.

To understand why the EU was formed, it was necessary to get a taste of European history. Europe, which had been the main battlefield of World War I and World War II, suffered irreparable damage, and the aversion to pacifism dominated everyone. Because anyone who wasn’t a pacifist was already dead on the battlefield.

Some European countries, who wanted to stop fighting among themselves, signed the Treaty of Rome in Rome, Italy. This led to the establishment of the European Economic Community (EEC), the predecessor of the European Community (TEC), and it gradually evolved thereafter, and the current EU was established in 1991 with the Maastricht Treaty.

When was Europe at its strongest? Some might cite the modern era when imperialism was rampant. But there was one answer that everyone would agree with: the Roman Empire.

Perhaps the British would deny it.

Anyway, when it comes to the reason why the European cultural sphere was established in the first place, the ancient Roman Empire was always involved. In the Middle Ages, everyone claimed to be descendants of Rome and wanted to regain the glory of the Roman Empire. The name of the Holy Roman Empire of Germany also originated from this, and even the symbols of Nazi Germany were often taken from Rome. The empire’s eagle or the Nazi salute, for example.

In short, the EU was a kind of national federation that originated from the idea of ‘We want peace!’ and ‘Europe is the strongest when united!’

The Maastricht Treaty presented the EU member states with economic and social policies, common foreign and security policies, and judicial and domestic issues.

In simple terms, it meant that EU member states would function like a single country within the framework of the EU. However, strictly speaking, it was not a single country like the United States of America, but rather had a stronger color of an international organization like the UN.

It was bound economically, judicially, and diplomatically, but not militarily. The concept of a European integrated army itself existed, but it was scrapped due to French domestic public opinion, and this absence was subtly replaced by NATO [North Atlantic Treaty Organization].

Now, let’s conclude after explaining enthusiastically.

The EU is a European national federation born for peace.

Europe is the strongest when united.

Therefore, the EU had to be the best in the world.

In fact, its GDP was still the best in the world.

But recently, the United States intervened in the Middle East and finally turned Afghanistan into a pro-American regime. No one knows how long that will last, but at least if another country in the Middle East invades Afghanistan, the United States can project its power into the Middle East as much as it wants.

If the Middle East falls into the hands of the United States, what will happen to the EU?

Of course, the United States is currently tied to NATO, but who can guarantee that it will last forever? When that time comes, how should the EU, no, Europe, respond?

Let’s think again for a moment. Was it ever reasonable to entrust national defense and national destiny to a mere 200-year history?

Since when has Europe been a lackey of the New World!

‘Therefore, we resolve to use the euro in all member states completely.’

Currency was also a measure that could properly measure the value of a country. The United States has the dollar, the United Kingdom has the pound, Russia has the ruble, South Korea has the won, Japan has the yen, and China has the yuan. Every proper country had its own unit.

Therefore, currency was also a framework for establishing the nationality of a country.

So, what is the introduction of the euro, that is, the Eurozone? It meant the loss of nationality that each European country had. The euro would become a symbol of the EU, and the EU was a conceptual advance base that would bring together the nationalities of Europe and one day make them call themselves Europeans, not Germans or French.

In addition, it was also a legitimate challenge to the US dollar hegemony that had been sluggish until now! It has only been half a century since the great powers lost their place. If Europe, which boasts a long tradition, unites, it will be able to crush the New World with its short history.

The statement itself was the introduction of the euro in all member states, but that was not actually the case. The EU took a hard line, saying that member states that did not introduce the Eurozone would be expelled from the EU, and most agreed to this, but of course, where there is approval, there is also opposition.

In particular, the United Kingdom had absolutely refused the Eurozone and eventually saw a compromise of using the euro and the pound together. There were other cases like the United Kingdom, such as Denmark and Sweden. The reason was that more than half of the people were strongly opposed.

‘It’s too early yet.’

‘Then are you saying we should just sit back and watch?’

‘What can we do when there is no basic administration or a constitution that can integrate Europe yet?’

‘Then we can just make one!’

So, ta-da! The European Constitutional Treaty, which had been secretly produced, urgently emerged. As a result, these voices began to emerge.

‘Now that this has happened, why don’t we just bring forward the Treaty of Nice and put it into effect?’

The hype is very artistic.

The Treaty of Nice was a treaty signed in Nice, France in December 2000 to allow countries located near the Mediterranean and Eastern Europe to join the EU. Originally, it was scheduled to take effect in 2003, but the EU began to move at a speed reminiscent of a runaway train, as if people were already on fire.

In reality, nothing had fallen on their feet, but the United States’ actions brought unprecedented anxiety. However, the fact was that they had the idea of stopping the hegemony of the United States, but they did not know what to do.

However, even if the runaway train ran wild, it would not deviate from the line as long as it had the inherent limitations of a train, and the ultimate direction was firmly established.

‘The United States of Europe (USE) is not far off!’

Well, it may be derailed from the rails due to excessive degree.