Carbon Democracy

Carbon Democracy

Author: Timothy Mitchell

Publisher: Verso Books

Published: 2013-06-25

Total Pages: 289

ISBN-13: 1781681163

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“A brilliant, revisionist argument that places oil companies at the heart of 20th century history—and of the political and environmental crises we now face.” —Guardian Oil is a curse, it is often said, that condemns the countries producing it to an existence defined by war, corruption and enormous inequality. Carbon Democracy tells a more complex story, arguing that no nation escapes the political consequences of our collective dependence on oil. It shapes the body politic both in regions such as the Middle East, which rely upon revenues from oil production, and in the places that have the greatest demand for energy. Timothy Mitchell begins with the history of coal power to tell a radical new story about the rise of democracy. Coal was a source of energy so open to disruption that oligarchies in the West became vulnerable for the first time to mass demands for democracy. In the mid-twentieth century, however, the development of cheap and abundant energy from oil, most notably from the Middle East, offered a means to reduce this vulnerability to democratic pressures. The abundance of oil made it possible for the first time in history to reorganize political life around the management of something now called “the economy” and the promise of its infinite growth. The politics of the West became dependent on an undemocratic Middle East. In the twenty-first century, the oil-based forms of modern democratic politics have become unsustainable. Foreign intervention and military rule are faltering in the Middle East, while governments everywhere appear incapable of addressing the crises that threaten to end the age of carbon democracy—the disappearance of cheap energy and the carbon-fuelled collapse of the ecological order. In making the production of energy the central force shaping the democratic age, Carbon Democracy rethinks the history of energy, the politics of nature, the theory of democracy, and the place of the Middle East in our common world.


The Prize

The Prize

Author: Daniel Yergin

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2011-04-05

Total Pages: 929

ISBN-13: 1439134839

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Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and hailed as “the best history of oil ever written” by Business Week, Daniel Yergin’s “spellbinding…irresistible” (The New York Times) account of the global pursuit of oil, money, and power addresses the ongoing energy crisis. Now with an epilogue that speaks directly to the current energy crisis, The Prize recounts the panoramic history of the world’s most important resource—oil. Daniel Yergin’s timeless book chronicles the struggle for wealth and power that has surrounded oil for decades and that continues to fuel global rivalries, shake the world economy, and transform the destiny of men and nations. This updated edition categorically proves the unwavering significance of oil throughout the twentieth century and into the twenty-first by tracing economic and political clashes over precious “black gold.” With his far-reaching insight and in-depth research, Yergin is uniquely positioned to address the present battle over energy which undoubtedly ranks as one of the most vital issues of our time. The canvas of his narrative history is enormous—from the drilling of the first well in Pennsylvania through two great world wars to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, Operation Desert Storm, and both the Iraq War and current climate change. The definitive work on the subject of oil, The Prize is a book of extraordinary breadth, riveting excitement, and great value—crucial to our understanding of world politics and the economy today—and tomorrow.


Routledge Library Editions: The Economics and Politics of Oil

Routledge Library Editions: The Economics and Politics of Oil

Author: Various Authors

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2021-07-14

Total Pages: 2879

ISBN-13: 1317222679

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The books in this set, originally published between 1927 and 1996 discuss the oil industry and its impact on the world economy in the twentieth century. The issues of trade, tax and energy policies as well as national security are all relevant to the economics politics of oil and the volumes analyse and discuss: The extent to which American dominance in world affairs is based on the control of oil resources and the changes which will inevitably take place with the end of the oil era. Discernible trends in such crucial areas as global petroleum supply and pricing, and the international economic and political implications of both. The role of wealth maximisation, and wealth satisficing The impact of North Sea oil and gas on the British economy. Relations between oil exporters and importers, and between the USA, Europe and the Arab world The most important strategic issues facing both the producers and consumers of oil and gas.


Routledge Revivals: Energy II (1977)

Routledge Revivals: Energy II (1977)

Author: Denton Morrison

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2018-01-12

Total Pages: 277

ISBN-13: 1351235656

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Originally published in 1977, Energy II provides a comprehensive and updated bibliography of energy in the context of the social sciences. Following on from the first bibliography published in 1975, this book offers a fully updated bibliography, and argues that energy problems are best seen in the context of social phenomena, such as social attitudes, social behaviours, social institutions and structures and populations. The book provides a unique list of references that examine energy problems outside of the context of social factors.


Oil

Oil

Author: Gavin Bridge

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2017-06-05

Total Pages: 258

ISBN-13: 1509511768

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Oil pulses through our daily lives. It is the plastic we touch, the food we eat, and the way we move. Oil politics in the twentieth century was about the management of abundance, state power, and market growth. The legacy of this age of plenty includes declining conventional oil reserves, volatile prices, climate change, and enduring poverty in many oil-rich countries. The politics of oil are now at a turning point, and its future will not be like its past. In this in-depth primer to one of the world’s most significant industries, authors Gavin Bridge and Philippe Le Billon take a fresh look at the contemporary political economy of oil. Going beyond simple assertions of peak oil and an oil curse, they point to an industry reordered by global shifts in demand toward Asia, growing reliance on unconventional reserves, international commitments to reduce carbon emissions, a growing campaign for fossil fuel divestment, and violent political struggles in many producer states. As a new geopolitics of oil emerges, the need for effective global oil governance becomes imperative. Highlighting the growing influence of civil society and attentive to the efforts of firms and states to craft new institutions, this fully updated second edition identifies the challenges and opportunities to curtail price volatility, curb demand and the growth of dirty oil, decarbonize energy systems, and improve governance in oil-producing countries.


What Happened To Fairbanks?

What Happened To Fairbanks?

Author: Mim Dixon

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2019-09-18

Total Pages: 235

ISBN-13: 1000010767

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This book describes what Fairbanks was like during trans-Alaska oil pipeline construction and how the community responded to the project, and assesses the unplanned negative effects that, in many cases, outweighed the positive ones.


Watchdogs and Whistleblowers

Watchdogs and Whistleblowers

Author: Stephen Brobeck

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 2015-07-20

Total Pages: 570

ISBN-13: 1440830002

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This book is the most comprehensive and up-to-date source of information about ways in which consumer activism has reshaped the economic and political well-being of citizens in the United States and around the world. This all-encompassing collection of information about consumer activism and the consumer movement will provide students, public officials, business groups, and other activists with a one-stop source of facts and insights. The contributors explore hundreds of major consumer protections that have significantly enhanced the quality of life and safety for all Americans, showing how these protections were won through the skillful and determined work of leading activists and activist organizations. Many of the stories told here are related by the activists themselves, often for the first time. More than 140 entries offer a comprehensive treatment of the consumer activism of specific organizations, their leaders, and strategies. The book also includes more than 40 entries about consumer movements in Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America. A timeline of key events and a listing of the most important books on the subject of consumer activism help provide context for the individual entries as do two introductory essays. Cross references in each entry establish linkages among topics.


Race and Class in Texas Politics

Race and Class in Texas Politics

Author: Chandler Davidson

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2021-02-09

Total Pages: 375

ISBN-13: 0691225273

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This major work on Texas politics explores the complicated relations between the politically disorganized Texas blue-collar class and the "rich and the fabulously rich," whose interests have been protected by "brilliant practitioners of horse trading, guile, the jovial but serious threat, the offer that can't be refused."


Washington's Dark Secret

Washington's Dark Secret

Author: John Maszka

Publisher: Potomac Books

Published: 2018-10-08

Total Pages: 297

ISBN-13: 1640121110

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As a scholar of terrorism, John Maszka has examined how politics, the media, and the War on Terror play off one another. His most startling claim is that the War on Terror is a war for natural resources—and that terrorism has little to do with it. Once the military became mechanized, oil quickly became the most sought-after commodity on the planet, and the race for energy was eventually framed as a matter of national security. Ironically, Maszka argues, the true threats to national security are the massive oil conglomerates themselves. Maszka delves into the repercussions of a government that capitalizes on an us versus them mentality, such as the demonizing of an entire religion, sensationalizing “radical” violent attacks, and loosely applying the word “terrorism.” Because the United States’ current approach to terrorism has led to the politicization and abuse of the term, Maszka suggests a need for a standardized definition of terrorism. Currently, too many acts of violence can be labeled terrorism, resulting in state and nonstate actors labeling their enemies as “terrorists,” yet claiming their own acts of violence as legitimate and retributive. Maszka argues that much of the violence labeled as terrorism today is not terrorism at all. In an ambitious attempt to connect seemingly unrelated events in politics and the media, Maszka offers an unflinching portrayal of the hypocrisy underlying our foreign policy.