Sir, – The term “blood diamond” has entered the popular lexicon due to the film of the same name and some good journalistic research on the topic. Perhaps it is time we started talking about oil in the same way. Consider what happened in the Saudi embassy in Turkey, the wars that have been waged in the name of oil and the myopic ambivalence shown by those in the “free” world towards human rights abuses committed by those in power in oil-rich countries. It seems that there is an inverse relationship between oil wealth and accountability. Then there is the environmental damage done by conventional oil production, fracking and of course the use of oil. “Bloody oil” is the blindspot of our age. – Yours, etc,
KEVIN DOWLING,
Kildare.