Overview

Billions of people around the world enjoy an unprecedented standard of living based on one thing: oil. And each year we demand more. We produce and consume energy not simply to heat, feed, move or defend ourselves, but to educate, entertain, construct our world then fill it with stuff. Everything we buy, from a McDonalds' hamburger to garden furniture to cancer drugs, represents a measure of energy produced and consumed. But how can this sustain itself, when already we have burned our way through half the easily available oil? Yet the pursuit of fuel is relentless. It can shape the diplomatic, economic and military strategies of nations, perverting the cultures and politics of entire regions; it props up corrupt governments and dictators; it fosters the instability and resentments that have already spawned Muammar Qaddafi, Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden. In this devastating piece of reportage, Paul Roberts shows what is likely to happen, why the transition from oil will be complicated, traumatic and possibly dangerous, and what it will mean for our daily lives.

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9780747570813

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Reviews

'Roberts gives a thorough yet highly-readable investigation of our dependence on oil and how to break it. It's an issue of massive proportions, yet Roberts is also careful to keep perspective on it' Glasgow Herald 'The End of Oil does what it says. It looks at an energy economy that is falling apart because global oil demand will soon begin to outstrip supply - half of easily available reserves will be consumed over the next three decades. It looks, in short, at a world beyond oil' Sunday Times 'As The End of Oil brilliantly shows, there are answers, but they are neither clear nor easy read this book, fill your roof with polystyrene, and buy a smaller car' Independent 'This book may very well become for fossil fuels what Fast Food Nation was to food' Publishers Weekly

Author Information

Paul Roberts is a regular contributor to Harper's Magazine. He lives in Washington State, USA.

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