Brian C. Black

Crude Reality (eBook, PDF)

Petroleum in World History

• Format: PDF

Produktbeschreibung

This concise, accessible introduction to the history of oil tells the story of how petroleum has shaped human life since it was first discovered oozing inconspicuously from the soil. For a century, human dependence on petroleum caused little discomfort as we enjoyed the heyday of cheap crude-a glorious episode of energy gluttony that was destined to end. Today, we see the disastrous results in environmental degradation, political instability, and world economic disparity in the waning years of a petroleum-powered civilization-lessons rooted in the finite nature of oil. Considering the nature of oil itself as well as humans' remarkable relationship with it, Brian C. Black spotlights our modern conundrum and then explores the challenges of our future without oil. It is this essential context, he argues, that will prepare us for our energy transition. Bringing his global perspective and wide-ranging technical knowledge, Black has written an essential contribution to environmental history and the rapidly emerging field of energy history in this sweeping, forward-looking survey.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Bloomsbury eBooks US
• Seitenzahl: 304
• Erscheinungstermin: 30. September 2020
• Englisch
• ISBN-13: 9798881875183
• Artikelnr.: 74847229

Autorenporträt

Brian C. Black is professor of history and environmental studies at Penn State Altoona. He is the author or editor of several books, including the award-winning Petrolia: The Landscape of America's First Oil Boom and Gettysburg Contested: 150 Years of Preserving America's Cherished Landscape. His articles appear in the New York Times, the Conversation, USA Today, Junior Scholastic, and the Christian Science Monitor.

Inhaltsangabe

Acknowledgments
Prologue
Introduction: Beginning as Black Goo
PART I: CULTURAL EXCHANGE, 1750-1890
Infrastructure: Drilling for Saltwater
1 From Black Goo to Black Gold
2 Crossing Borders to Increase Supply
3 Modeling Big Oil
Infrastructure: Shipping Crude throughout the Globe
PART II: GOING MOBILE, 1890-1960
Infrastructure: Pumping Gas
4 Hitting the Road
5 Marching for Petroleum: Supply and Weapons
Infrastructure: "Want Fries with That?"
PART III: THE GLOBALIZATION OF PETROLEUM DOMINANCE, 1960-PRESENT
Infrastructure: Big Science Helps Big Oil
6 Consuming Cultures
7 To Have and Have Not
Infrastructure: NYMEX and the Commodity of Crude
PART IV: LIVING WITH LIMITS AND ENERGY TRANSITIONS, 1980-PRESENT
Infrastructure: Climate Change Reveals a New World Order
8 "Extreme Oil," Climate Change, and Geopolitics
Portrait of Addiction: U.S. Petroleum Use
Epilogue: Resource Curse: Time for an Oil Change?
Chronology of Petroleum in World History
Chronology of Spills
Notes
Bibliography
Index