Energy use  has changed significantly over time with the development of the urban  economy, and increase of demands that GDP produces. An example of this  would be the demands of consumer buying power, and demands of shipments  from China and Eastern goods to the US. The cost of fuel to transport  these goods has increased as the need of oil to move these ships across  the ocean to fill the demand of these supplies continues. People want  more “stuff,” or material goods as they acquire better jobs, better  housing as a result of continued urbanization of rural areas, as jobs  are increased and people see the need to have “better.” All the talk of  energy consumption, and the control over these resources has more to do  with who can get the most profit with the least amount of expenditure.  The power of retention and manipulation of these resources lies in the  muscle, and dominating economic force (Freight, 2015).

One  conflict that is ever growing is the control of oil reserves in the  middle east. The same oil necessary to move those shipments, is the same  oil that is constantly being negotiated over, going to war over, or  even stolen. 

 According to Klare, 2014:  

Although  production from the fields has dropped significantly, enough is being  extracted and sold through various clandestine channels to provide the rebels (Links to an external site.)  with income and operating funds. “Syria is an oil country and has  resources, but in the past they were all stolen by the regime,” said (Links to an external site.) Abu Nizar, an anti-government activist. “Now they are being stolen by those who are profiting from the revolution.”

This is  what is believed to be the work of ISIS, which is a regime or militia of  outlaws in Iraq and Syria who are seeking to gain power, and control  over the oil fields. The oil would be to used gain profits, and build  larger armed forces with more weapons gaining more political control on a  global scale. It all ties into the necessity for nations to fulfill the  supply and demand of their people with little to no reliance on other  countries if possible. This is what I believe to be true political  power. 

The Arctic  faring in comparison to the battle over oil in the middle east is much  the same. It ties directly into revealing that there is much hidden oil  that lies beneath the ice, and who can gain access, power and control  over these hidden resources has the power to dominate as a premium  political power. An article by (King, 2014) states that …some overlapping territorial disputes  and disagreements over how the edge of the continental margin is  defined and mapped. For example, Russia claims that their continental  margin follows the Lomonosov Ridge all the way to the North Pole. In  another, both the United States and Canada claim a portion of the  Beaufort Sea in an area that is thought to contain significant oil and  natural gas resources.

 These  kinds of ongoing disputes make the continued argument that energy, power  and politics are a continued balancing act on a global scale.

References:

Freight Rates and Maritime Transfer Costs (2015)  retrieved from : unctad.org/en/PublicationChapters/rmt2015ch3_en.pdf

King, H.M (n.d) Oil and Natural Gas Resources of the Arctic, Retrieved from:https://geology.com/articles/arctic-oil-and-gas/

Klare, M. (2014)Twenty-first century energy wars: how oil and gas are fueling global conflicts. Energypost.eu retrieved from: https://energypost.eu/twenty-first-century-energy-wars-oil-gas-fuelling-global-conflicts/