Oil, Water, War and Refugees

So, NATO is going to hire itself out to countries and companies who need their oil and gas defended.

The likely measures would involve providing sea-borne rapid reaction forces to combat attacks on facilities, hostage taking and piracy in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. "In NATO, we are looking very actively at using our maritime resources ... to see how we can link up with oil companies," Shea told a conference in London. Shea said he had discussed the issue with Royal Dutch Shell Plc and London-based BP Plc, the second and third-largest western oil companies in the world. NATO is also in talks with Qatar about how it could help secure the Gulf state's large liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities.

You might remember Jamie Shea from his wonderful press conferences during the Kosovo war.

Camilla Cavendish, in the Times, outlined recently the coming struggles over both oil and water resources in the Middle East and Africa.

Finally, Christian Aid figures that 1 billion people will be displaced by either conflict or climate change between now and 2050.

By comparison, 66 million people were displaced across Europe by May 1945, in addition to the many millions more in China. Today, there are an estimated 163 million people worldwide who have been displaced by factors like conflict, drought and flooding as well as economic development projects like dams, logging and grain plantations.

We need to start understanding how our unceasing demand for petrol, for oil, for energy use, is linked to climate change and struggles over scant resources in Africa and Asia.

- Personally, I missed the decision that this was the new role for NATO, to be an international mercenary force able to be hired by Shell or BP when they're in time of need. We need to keep consuming our petrol, and we're going to send our crack military troops to ensure it.

- We will require new international structures to be put in place if we are anticipating hundreds of millions of people being displaced from their home countries, or internally displaced, around the world.

- We have to stop making baby-reformist-steps towards climate change strategies, both locally and nationally.