Crude Reality

Petroleum in World History

Brian C. Black (Autor)

Buch | Softcover

304 Seiten

2020 | 2nd edition
Rowman & Littlefield (Verlag)
978-1-5381-4247-9 (ISBN)

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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.

Brian C. Black, distinguished professor of history and environmental studies and division head of arts and humanities at Penn State Altoona, 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.

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

Erscheinungsdatum	10.05.2021
Reihe/Serie	Exploring World History
Zusatzinfo	38 b/w illustrations; 1 table
Sprache	englisch
Maße	153 x 232 mm
Gewicht	485 g
Themenwelt	Naturwissenschaften ► Biologie ► Ökologie / Naturschutz
	Technik ► Bergbau
	Technik ► Elektrotechnik / Energietechnik
	Wirtschaft
ISBN-10	1-5381-4247-3 / 1538142473
ISBN-13	978-1-5381-4247-9 / 9781538142479
Zustand	Neuware