Heg Da Evidence

Doug Henwood. “Gross: loss of US hegemony bad for investors.” February 3, 2003. http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/2003/2003-February/003242.html. Accessed July 9, 2008. That such a hegemony has been based upon (1) America's military domination and (2) America's superior economy as reflected by the dollar's ascension to the top of the pile as the world's reserve currency - is undeniable. All hegemonies including Britannia's (since the fall of Napoleon to the end of WWI), have shared similar characteristics. As current leader of the pack, America has been able to implement policies (free trade, open capital markets, and a strong currency) which have not only reflected its political heritage and philosophy but have added dollars and cents to its citizens' pocket books, as well as SUVs to their driveways. But the U.S., unlike the British Empire rests on a fragile foundation built upon consumer spending and trade deficits as opposed to mercantilism and trade surpluses, which characterized Britannia's rule. These deficits, coming at a time of American military expansion in pursuit of terrorist containment, threaten to reverse our hegemonic benefits and end our economic domination. Our SUVs, as well as our top cat near-monopoly of the good times are at risk.

NIALL FERGUSON; Wall Street Journal; The End of Power; June 21, 2004; pg 1 We tend to assume that power, like nature, abhors a vacuum. In the history of world politics, it seems, someone is always bidding for hegemony. Today it is the United States; a century ago it was Britain. Before that, it was the French, the Spaniards and so on. The 19th-century German historian Leopold von Ranke, doyen of the study of statecraft, portrayed modern European history as an incessant struggle for mastery, in which a balance of power was possible only through recurrent conflict. “Offshore Wind Ready to Reduce Oil Dependence.” Cape Wind Associations. January 2, 2008. http://www.capewind.org/news844.htm. Accessed July 7, 2008.

Today offshore wind power can reduce reliance on oil fired power plants, in the future offshore wind power will also be able to supply fuel to cars, buses and trucks as the transportation sector develops 'plug-in hybrid' technology to derive more power from electricity to use less oil. The U.S. Department of Energy produced an Offshore Wind Framework in 2005 that found there is enough offshore wind power long-term potential to meet most of the nation’s electricity needs.

Tony Jones. “Oil and the politics of war.” Australian Broadcasting Corporation. TV Transcript. May 2, 2003. http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/stories/s777903.htm. Accessed July 9, 2008. Mr Monbiot is a prominent opponent of the war in Britain and claims that the US is "positioning itself to become the gatekeeper to the world's remaining oil and gas supplies" which, he says, will massively increase "it's hegemonic power".