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The End of Oil : On the Edge of a Perilous New World :: 0618562117
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| The End of Oil is a "geologic cautionary tale for a complacent world accustomed to reliable infusions of cheap energy." The book centers around one irrefutable fact: the global supply of oil is being depleted at an alarming rate. Precisely how much accessible (not to mention theoretical) oil remains is debatable, but even conservative estimates mark the peak of production in decades rather than centuries. Which energy sources will replace oil, who will control them, and how disruptive to the current world order the transition from one system to the next will be are just a few of the big questions that Paul Roberts attempts to answer in this timely book. As Roberts makes abundantly clear, the major oil players in the world wield their enormous economic and political power in order to maintain the status quo. Of course, they get plenty of help from the tens of millions of consumers, particularly in the U.S. and Europe, who guzzle oil as if there is an unlimited supply. And this demand shows no sign of abating--nearly half of the world's population lives without the benefits of fossil fuels and they desperately want to be among the haves. In countries such as China and India, where energy systems are already breaking down, Roberts discusses how they are looking to oil to fuel their race for development, in many cases ignoring environmental considerations altogether. Though there is much to be pessimistic about, Roberts does uncover some positive developments, such as the race for alternative energy sources, notably hydrogen fuel cells, which could help to ease us off of our oil dependence before a full-blown energy crisis occurs. No one book could cover every aspect of what Roberts calls "arguably the most serious crisis ever to face industrial society," but The End of Oil is a remarkably informative and balanced introduction to this pressing subject. --Shawn Carkonen Editorial Descriptions are usually submitted by the manufacturers, publishers and authors. Contact us if you are one of them, and wish to change the above description. |
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Author: Guest
First let me start off by saying that this is a very good book. I enjoyed reading it a great deal. It is well written with an easy tempo in which the details are not boring. This is engaging subject matter and while other authors on this topic put me right to sleep with their droning on and on, Mr. Roberts does not. He has the engaging style of a good story teller. While there are a few rays of hope outlined in the work, I have this feeling that the worst predictions will happen long before the so called powers that be will come to the worlds rescue and clean up their act. The scariest part of this story is that the worst is actually unfolding right before our very eyes and every one of us called "Earthling" will be affected.
I do have a few bones to pick.
Mr. Roberts, like many mainstream authors and news people, still refer to nuclear Energy as "Clean Energy" On page 175 specifically he uses the phrase "nuclear is clean, after all" and he puts this phrase into parentheses as if to remind the reader of something so obvious that it might be overlooked. I would just like to point out that nuclear energy is not clean energy. One can only accept the clean nuclear energy theory if one ignores the entire process of mining uranium ore and then the processing of it into an enriched state so it can be used as fuel in a reactor. The smoke may not be belching out of the exhaust stack at the reactor itself but it did belch out of the exhaust pipes of the mining equipment used to gather the raw material and the coal fired power plants that made the electricity necessary for the milling and enrichment process. If you can wrap your thoughts around this process you will see that nuclear energy is very carbon intense. If, dear reader, you don't want to take my word for it and I encourage you to not take my word, I would refer you to the works of Dr. Helen Caldicott.
Second, I don't think that Mr. Hugo Chavez, "Elected" President of Venezuela, is anti-American or unstable as the author writes on more than one occasion. I think that Mr. Chavez developed his distaste for US President George Bush after the latter President used the CIA to try and wipe out the former President. I know that the two of them have radically different political philosophies however I feel that any country in need of funding which has an abundance of anything valuable like oil and natural gas would be happy to sell it in a free, open world market. Which is what Venezuela has been doing right along. I can't blame Mr. Chavez for his dislike and mistrust of the current US executive branch and its' illegal activities towards his country because frankly, Bush and his illegal dealings in this country have me nervous too.
Other than that there are a few minor things. Mr. Roberts says nothing about Bio-Diesel and its use by many European bus fleets. The benefit being that Bio-diesel is available now, it works with current technology and it has the benefit of reducing the sooty diesel exhaust emissions drastically for relatively little expense. There are several mentions on the general subject of renewable fuels but nothing too detailed. There is much focus on gas as a bridge fuel.
Over all I have to say I enjoyed this book. The opening chapters on energy history were excellent. I hadn't had the subject put to me in such an engaging way.
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Author: Guest
Mr. Roberts you are right that Middle East oil will run out eventually, but to suggest that there's a shortage of oil in the world is dishonest.
There is no shortage of oil, only availability of oil that can be produced at .50 to 1.50 per a barrel as in the Middle East. We have all the oil we will ever need in Alberta or USA but not at $1.50 a barrel.
The problem is putting the upfront capital cost required to bring this oil to market, not availability of oil! Our companies are faced with the fact that if they put up the front end cost for the project required, that they could/would be bankrupted by the Middle East flooding the market with cheap oil!
Even at $60.00 a barrel the west has no problem paying the price. The only people suffering from these prices are the ones living in the Arab counties or other less developed countries. In these countries the people have to make a decision of whether to buy oil or eat today. This hardship is put on these unfortunate people by the monopoly practice of the Middle East and their political insanity not by the west.
The west can put an end to this insanity by applying a tariff on oil imports from the Middle East. This would allow our companies or government to develop the oil fields required, and in an effect put an end to the insane monopoly practice of OPEC.
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Author: Guest
The price of oil doubled last year but the economies of the industrialized world were completely unaffected. Can you explain why in your next "We are Really, Really Near the End of Oil" book?
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Author: Guest
Roberts gives a tour de force account of the global energy situation. This is a timely book, well written, well researched, and a must read. Eye-popping, and hard to put down, inspiring optimism on one page, only to have a heartbreak on the next. Robrest does a masterful job of depicting the precipice the global energy market now teeters, and documents the move towrds hegemonic "energy security," a misnomer, a regime in which cooler heads are unlikely to prevail.
The title is a bit misleading, as the scope of this book goes far beyond oil to include all the fossil energy, renewables, nuclear and hydrogen. The only lacking energy source he doesn't mention biofuels, which would be my only critique. Roberts focus on the current and near future energy picture, and doesn't waste time by getting into a lot of the wow-neato hypothetical exotic sci-fi energy sources that have no potential to affect the current an coming global energy regime.
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Author: Guest
My dad says people should put away this hyped tripe and read someone who really understands how technology and energy will change over the next 20 to 30 years.
Way cool stuff like solar power with nanotechnology.
My dad says to read The Singularity is Near by Ray Kurzweil. Kurzweil is really, really smart and has a bunch of cool trend graphs. Roberts has....lots of scary words.
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