CounterPunch Exclusives

CounterPunch Exclusives

The Iran War’s Global Disruption Points to a Bioregional Way of Life

U.S. Army Photo – Public Domain

I awoke this morning to pictures of Iran’s South Pars gas field burning, the world’s largest. I know what this means. It makes me almost physically ill, a recurrent feeling since the war on Iran broke out several weeks ago. It means Iran almost certainly will escalate attacks on Persian Gulf oil and gas infrastructure. What might have been a temporary interruption of exports with the closure of the Hormuz Strait will go into the long term, with waves of disruption cascading over the global economy.

The interconnected global system has suffered major shocks over recent years. The financial sector broke down in 2008. The pandemic broke supply chains in 2020, and the Ukraine war upset energy markets in 2022. These may have only been precursors of the degree of shock we are about to experience.

The disruptions extend beyond fuel. Around one-third of the fertilizer shipped by sea originates from the Persian Gulf. It’s made from fossil gas. Food production will be deeply impacted. Sulphur, a product of refinery operations, is also interdicted. Its uses range from fertilizer to processing copper ore, a material vital for green energy technologies. Much of the world’s helium, a byproduct of gas processing, comes from the Gulf. It’s crucial for chip manufacture.

From one standpoint, those of us who have worked........

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