''The End of Oil: On the Edge of a Perilous New World'' is a non-fiction book by American journalist and author Paul Roberts. Published in 2004, it is Roberts' book-length debut. It provides an analysis of the various problems associated with humanity's reliance on oil and other fossil fuels such as coal and natural gas.

Synopsis

Though ''The End of Oil'' is not a chronological history of humanity's use of

fossil fuels A fossil fuel is a flammable carbon compound- or hydrocarbon-containing material formed naturally in the Earth's crust from the buried remains of prehistoric organisms (animals, plants or microplanktons), a process that occurs within geologica ...

, Roberts begins by recounting how Thomas Newcomen, in 1712, presented the first large

steam engine A steam engine is a heat engine that performs Work (physics), mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a Cylinder (locomotive), cyl ...

, and thus helped spark the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...

. He then goes on to explain the problems that have since developed or may develop in the future, from humanity's reliance on oil and its "geological siblings", coal and natural gas. While there is a chapter on

hydrogen Hydrogen is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol H and atomic number 1. It is the lightest and abundance of the chemical elements, most abundant chemical element in the universe, constituting about 75% of all baryon, normal matter ...

as a possible alternative to oil (not as an energy source, but as an energy carrier), the book is not focused on any one solution to the problems it lays out. According to Roberts, oil faces three major dilemmas. Most importantly, all fossil fuels are by their very nature limited in supply; as far as oil is concerned, the resulting dilemma is best known as the question of peak oil. Further, much of the oil consumed by affluent countries such as the United States is extracted in countries that are rather unstable politically, such as some of the members of the

OPEC The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC ) is an organization enabling the co-operation of leading oil-producing and oil-dependent countries in order to collectively influence the global oil market and maximize Profit (eco ...

. The oil trade is therefore prone to become intertwined with

international relations International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...

, although the nature of this interplay is highly controversial, with some citing oil as a reason for conflicts such as the

Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...

and others denying such claims. Finally, since the burning of fossil fuels releases

carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalent bond, covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in a gas state at room temperature and at norma ...

that was previously locked in the ground, humanity's reliance on oil may contribute to

global warming Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes ...

. As to the aims of the book, Roberts states at the end of the prologue:

Predictions for the price of oil

At various points in the book, Roberts makes cautious predictions for the price of oil. These were soon proved to be, if anything, too optimistic. For example, citing ''Arab Oil and Gas'' magazine as a source, Roberts wrote that "in the next five to ten years", if there were to be any large disruption in supply, "prices could easily be bid up past sixty dollars a barrel and kept there for months". Prices passed the sixty-dollar mark as early as June 2005, thirteen months after the book was first published. However, by 2009, oil prices had fallen back under the sixty-dollar mark.

Reception

''The End of Oil'' received some positive reviews from American newspapers and review publications.Book jacket of ''The End of Oil'', Mariner Books edition Notably, environmentalist Bill McKibben, in an article for the New York Review of Books, described it as "perhaps the best single book ever produced about our energy economy and its environmental implications." Fellow author Joseph J. Romm, whose '' The Hype about Hydrogen'' had been published a few weeks before ''The End of Oil'', called the book "fascinating" and "a stinging rebuke of America's myopic, do-nothing energy policy."Frontmatter of ''The End of Oil'', Mariner Books edition In 2005, it was a finalist for the New York Public Library's Helen Bernstein Book Award.Book jacket of Roberts' 2008 book ''The End of Food'' (Boston: Houghton Mifflin)

Editions

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References

External links

Interview with Roberts about ''The End of Oil''
at

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

on May 6, 2004 (audio)
The True Debate about Energy: When Oil Runs Out...
{{DEFAULTSORT:End of Oil, The 2004 non-fiction books 2004 in the environment American non-fiction books Houghton Mifflin books Peak oil books