Burning Up

A Global History of Fossil Fuel Consumption

Simon Pirani (Autor)

Buch | Softcover

272 Seiten

2018
Pluto Press (Verlag)
978-0-7453-3561-2 (ISBN)

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A history of the excesses of capitalism's rampant fossil fuel consumption since 1950.

Coal, gas and oil have been capitalism's main fuels since the industrial revolution. And yet, of all the fossil fuels ever consumed, more than half were burned in the last 50 years. Most alarming of all, fossil fuel consumption has grown fastest in the last three decades, since scientists confirmed that it is the main cause of potentially devastating global warming.

In Burning Up, Simon Pirani recounts the history of fossil fuels' relentless rise since the mid twentieth century. Dispelling explanations foregrounding Western consumerism, and arguments that population growth is the main problem, Pirani shows how fossil fuels are consumed through technological, social and economic systems, and that these systems must change.

This is a major contribution to understanding the greatest crisis of our time.

Simon Pirani is Senior Visiting Research Fellow at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, and has written widely on Soviet history and energy issues. His books include Burning Up: A Global History of Fossil Fuel Consumption (Pluto, 2018), The Russian Revolution in Retreat (Routledge, 2008) and Change in Putin’s Russia (Pluto, 2009).

Figures

Tables

Acknowledgements

Units of Measurement

Acronyms and Abbreviations

Introduction

Part I: Contexts

1. Fossil Fuels Before 1950

2. Energy Technologies

3. Energy in Society

4. Fossil Fuel Consumption in Numbers

Part II: Chronologies

5. The 1950s and 1960s: Post-War Boom

6. The 1970s: Crises and Oil Price Shocks

7. Patterns of Electrification

8. The 1980s: Recession and Recovery

9. The 1990s: Shunning the Global Warming Challenge

10. The 2000s: Acceleration Renewed

Part III: Reflections

11. Interpretations and Ideologies

12. Possibilities

13. Conclusions

Appendices

Notes

Further Reading and Bibliography

Index

Erscheinungsdatum	17.09.2018
Zusatzinfo	10 Figures
Verlagsort	London
Sprache	englisch
Maße	150 x 230 mm
Gewicht	404 g
Themenwelt	Geschichte ► Teilgebiete der Geschichte ► Technikgeschichte
	Naturwissenschaften ► Biologie ► Ökologie / Naturschutz
	Wirtschaft ► Volkswirtschaftslehre
ISBN-10	0-7453-3561-6 / 0745335616
ISBN-13	978-0-7453-3561-2 / 9780745335612
Zustand	Neuware