DAPHNE WYSHAM
Wysham is director of the Sustainable Energy and Economy Network and a fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies. She is co-author of the report “Wrong Turn from Rio: The World Bank’s Road to Climate Catastrophe.”

She said today: “The price we are paying at the pump will only grow higher, and our global reputation fall lower, as long as our political leaders lack the backbone to think beyond the next election cycle. We must demand that they invest in sustainable energy options for present and future generations. This means kicking Big Oil out of the White House and the Capitol, and imposing a carbon tax to subsidize the kinds of clean energy and transportation options we want to see flourishing in this country.”
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JAMES PAUL
Paul is executive director of the Global Policy Forum, which monitors the United Nations. He said today: “As gasoline prices spike at the pump, the world’s supply of oil may have hit a production limit, suggesting that the long-predicted ‘peak’ in supplies has finally arrived. Neither the Saudis nor other producers have spare capacity left, and global demand — pushed upwards by vast new car and truck fleets in China and India — continues to climb. Will another hurricane season wreak further havoc on production/refineries in the Gulf? Will political factors choke off exports from Iraq, Iran, Venezuela and Nigeria? The world economy is entering a severe danger zone, magnified by climate change, rapacious oil companies and bellicose policies in Washington. The political response, so far, does not begin to address this emergency-in-the-making.” Paul has written several pieces about oil including “Oil in Iraq: The Heart of the Crisis.” His group co-published the study “Crude Designs: The Rip-Off of Iraq’s Oil Wealth.”
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For further information, contact at the Institute for Public Accuracy:
Cynthia Skow, (415) 552-5378; or David Zupan, (541) 484-9167