Oil, War and the Fate of Industrial Societies-Day 6

The Party's Over: Oil, Ware and the Fate of Industrial Societies
Author: Richard Heinberg
Publisher: New Society Publishers
Genre: Critical

In the beginning of the first chapter, Heinberg discusses how our planet is stimulated with energy. He says” We live in a universe pulsing with energy; however, only a limited amount of that energy is available for our use. Humans have recently discovered a temporary energy subsidy in the forms of coal, oil, and natural gas, and that momentary energy bonanza has fueled the creation of modern industrial societies”(Heinberg, 9). We live in a universe that has an abundant amount of energy, but there is only a limited supply of energy. With the discovery of fossil fuels, that has influenced the creation of industrial societies. The world is taking advantage of all the energy we have in multiple ways, but the circumstances coming with the limited supply will cause us to think more about the energy than we have before.

According to Heinberg, not many people understand what energy is, yet they know it exist. However, without energy, nothing would exist. He says that energy is used in two ways: a literary or music might say that a particular poem or performance has energy meaning that it has a dynamic quality, or we would use the term spontaneously or in other ways. An important term in this reading is fuel. Fuel is a material that stores energy. Therefore, when you hear the term fossil fuel it means stored energy from extinct organisms that lived in the past. On earth, all available energy to fuel comes from the sun, and the energy we get from solar energy is 10,000 times the total amount of energy we get from fossil fuels.

The universe as a whole produces much energy, yet we receive much energy from the sun. The way the earth produces energy are the fossil fuels and the use of some solar energy. Many societies are taking advantage of most of the energy they receive, but the United States being one of the largest. When the oil is gone, the world as a whole will have to think more critically about the survival of man without oil.

Citation:

Heinberg, Richard. The Party's Over. New Society Publishers, 2003. 9-45. Print.