For his point on energy, the USA's huge oil production capacity for the last 100 years has given us a real competitive advantage against other countries. One could argue that our country's ascendance to sole world power was completely due to the our access to cheap energy. For instance, look at the role access to fuel played in the second world war.

We have always been one of the largest oil producers in the world. Even today US companies basically control the world oil market as middle men (I highly recommend Daniel Yergin's book for a long but informative read on this subject.). However, the fear is that we will soon lose our cheap energy advantage and become dependent on foreign oil... it maybe true that right now the US consumes a lot of domestically produced oil, but the writing on the wall says that will not be the case forever.

I recommend you read a book called "A Slow Death: 83 Days of Radiation Sickness".

It's the story of Hisashi Ouchi, a nuclear infastructure engineer that was exposed to extremely high dosage of radiation during a severe criticality accident, effectively destroying his DNA. He lived for 83 days, if you can call it living.

As other commenters have noted, this is a picture of Hisashi Ouchi, one of the victims of the Tokaimura criticality accident which killed two people. The dogged efforts of the doctors to save his life, despite having very little medical precedent and history with which to work, are documented in great detail in the book A Slow Death: 83 Days of Radiation Sickness. As the of the book indicates, he died after 83 days, most of which were spent in coma. I purchased the book several years ago and, though the subject matter is sad, it is an absolutely fascinating account of exactly what happens when someone suffers lethal radiation exposure.

A reviewer of the book on Amazon summed up the situation as follows:

"The gentle and amiable patient did not realize for several days that he was what is termed a "walking ghost". While he appeared to be fine for a while, all of his cells were damaged and his death was certain. Pain medication to make him comfortable when symptoms arose would have ordinarily been the only intervention while awaiting the inevitable, but in his case the hospital staff and his family did not tell him that he received a lethal dose and maintained that fiction almost until the day he died. The doctors kept giving him transplants, transfusions, skin grafts, injections and cardiac massage -- a heroic effort overall -- to keep him alive until maybe something would actually help. Since severe radiation sickness is not common, these folks had no real idea what they could do and dealt with symptoms as they arose. And arose. And arose. The fact that Mr. Ouchi survived for months is nothing short of amazing, but perhaps honor and hope came at too high a cost: his incomprehensible CONSCIOUS suffering."

Here is the book on Amazon, if you are interested:

http://www.amazon.com/Slow-Death-Days-Radiation-Sickness/dp/1934287407

http://www.amazon.com/Slow-Death-Days-Radiation-Sickness/dp/1934287407

Here's a book detailing the 83 days that doctors and nurses struugled to keep this man alive. Amazing book. They were pouring nuclear material from a steel bucket into a large metal container. The material went critical (bright blue flash/radiation). He did not turn into the hulk.

Don't Tell Mum I Work on the Rigs: (She Thinks I'm a Piano Player in a Whorehouse)

Ethischer Konsum ist keine Lösung und wir sollten aufhören ihn als solche zu bewerben. Es ist natürlich nichts falsch daran auf Fleisch zu verzichten, einen Baum zu pflanzen oder weniger zu duschen. Aber die Ursachen für die derzeitige Umweltkrise liegen tiefer und die Lösungen verlangen kollektives Handeln. Ethischer Konsum basiert auf dem Versprechen, dass wir durch unkoordinierte, isolierte Marktentscheidungen das komplexe Zusammenspiel von Konsumkultur, Macht, Verantwortung, auf dem die Klimakrise beruht, entwirren können. Die Umweltkatastrophe geht jedoch nicht auf individuelles Fehlverhalten zurück, sondern ist das Produkt systemischen Versagens, wie z.B.

• das unhinterfragte Streben nach ökonomischen Wachstum (und Messung dessen in GDP);
  
• konzentrierter Privatbesitz und Regierungen, die sich diesem unterordnen;
  
• unregulierte Märkte, die systematisch Anreize zur Umweltverschmutzung setzen;
  
• eine Wirtschaftssystem, dass ausufernden Konsum voraussetzt; und
  
• die vielen Facetten sozialer Ungerechtigkeit.
  
  Der Ruf nach grünem Konsum ignoriert diese Ursachen und entbindet so politische und wirtschaftliche Institutionen von ihrer Schuld und Rechenschaftspflicht. Verbraucherorientierte Ansätze als Lösung zu präsentieren, führt daher zu einer Individualisierung der Verantwortung die wiederum dafür sorgt, dass die eigentlichen Ursachen unangetastet bleiben.
  Dies legitimiert gegenwärtigen Dynamiken von Verbrauch und Konsum. Murray Bookchin hat es ganz gut zusammengefasst:
  
  >It is inaccurate and unfair to coerce people into believing that
  they are personally responsible for present-day ecological disasters because they consume too much or proliferate too readily. This privatization of the environmental crisis, like the New Age cults that focus on personal problems rather than on social dislocations, has reduced many environmental movements to utter ineffectiveness and threatens to diminish their credibility with the public. (Toward an Ecological Society, 1980)
  
  Zusätzlich zu diesem wird Konsumkritik auch noch häufig dazu verwendet Menschen, die sich für gesellschaftliche Lösungen einsetzen, zu diskreditieren.
  
  >Statt sich über derartige Unannehmlichkeiten den Kopf zu zerbrechen oder sich gar für eine andere Wirtschafts- und Umweltpolitik einzusetzen, sollen die Vereinzelten, so die Lehre der KonsumkritikerInnen, erst einmal bei sich anfangen. Wer jemals mit dem Flugzeug in den Urlaub geflogen ist, hat gemäß der konsumkritischen Ideologie zum Thema CO2-Ausstoß ohnehin nichts mehr zu melden. (Dennis Gramer)
  
  Es ist daher auch bedauernswert, dass die Berichterstattung der deutschen Medien sich so auf diese Thema wirft, anstatt mit konstruktivem Journalismus aufzuzeigen wie individuelle Menschen sich zusammentun und für kollektive Lösungen einsetzen können. Ein paar Beispiele für Aktionen sind:
  
  
• Klimaproteste wie die Fridays for Future. Aufgrund des gesellschaftlichen Druckes muss sich sogar die CDU mit Klimapolitik beschäftigen.
  
• Lesegruppen. Trefft euch regelmäßig und besprecht Texte/Informationen zu Klimalösungen. Es ist wichtig das Thema zu verstehen, damit man zwischen Symbolpolitik und echten Maßnahmen unterscheiden kann.
  
• Öffentlichkeitsarbeit. Stellt euch mit der lokalen Klimagruppe auf die Straßenfeste oder andere öffentliche Versammlungen und informiert. Die meisten Leute mit denen man dort in Kontakt kommt sind schon für das Thema sensibilisiert und wollen wissen, was sie konkret tun können.
  
• Küchengespräche. Es gibt eine Menge Leute, die sich von dem Thema und den Medienberichten überwältigt fühlen. Dies kann dazu führen, dass sie die Problematik ignorieren, oder schlimmer noch sich vergrämt fühlen. Es ist wichtig solche Menschen nicht hängen zu lassen, sondern mit einzubeziehen. Wir versuchen daher das Gespräch zu suchen, indem wir ausgebildete Leute bereitstellen, die sich mit einer Handvoll dieser Menschen in eine Küche/Wohnzimmer setzen und in Ruhe über das Thema reden.
  
  Ein paar Beispiele für sinnvolle, kollektive Maßnahmen sind:
  
  
• Eine CO2-Dividende (siehe hier, hier und hier),
  
• Ausbau erneuerbarer Energien,
  
• Verbesserung des öffentlichen Nah- und Fernverkehrs;
  
• Umbau der Landwirtschaft;
  
• Steigerung der Energie Effizienz durch Regulierung und Zuschüsse für private Haushalte, und
  
• zusätzliche Ausgaben für Forschung und Entwicklung.
  
  Zusammengefasst, Konsumkritik ist bestenfalls wirkungslos und schlimmstenfalls schädlich. Stattdessen sollten wir uns mit unseren Mitmenschen organisieren und für gesellschaftliche Maßnahmen stark machen.

> Its not like the coal companies are great benefactors of miners.

It seems to treat them as expendable...

I recently read The Price of Justice about Don Blankenship and Massey energys' horrible behavior in West Virginia... Made me sick

The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money & Power

"[...] The Prize, winner of the 1992 Pulitzer Prize for nonfiction, is a comprehensive history of one of the commodities that powers the world--oil. Founded in the 19th century, the oil industry began producing kerosene for lamps and progressed to gasoline. Huge personal fortunes arose from it, and whole nations sprung out of the power politics of the oil wells. Yergin's fascinating account sweeps from early robber barons like John D. Rockefeller, to the oil crisis of the 1970s, through to the Gulf War."

Well, you can characterise it as declaring war, or as giving them a gentle nudge to start adopting new technologies to better service their markets.

There's ample evidence to show that the car industry, petroleum industry, and fossil fuel industries would prefer climate change not be discussed, and not have to react to it. And while they have responded in some ways to pressure by their customer base, they've also resisted change because it's not in their long term interest.

However as Tesla enters the market, it takes market share. It's done this to the luxury vehicle market and will do so to the other markets. This is the most effective way to ensure that these industries respond to the challenge of climate change - either they respond by producing competing products, or Tesla will over time ramp up volumes, take more market share, and disrupt them out of existence, just as has happened to Blockbuster, Kodak, Nokia.

Shareholders of companies in these markets are on notice - the long term viability (10 - 15 years) of your business is at stake. Many brands we know today will disappear. This new technology will also create new business models and opportunities - but the incumbants will have to act fast!

More on disruption of the energy market by solar/battery from Tony Seba's book and this great presentation in Oslo a few months ago.

edit: formatting and sales added

I think the argument, were it thoughtfully presented, is that the green revolution has done nothing to feed the world. It has merely transformed agriculture into a highly capitalized, high input system of growing food, at the cost of tremendous environmental damage and the continued impoverishment of developing nations. It has replaced a system of sustainability with one of dependence (on seeds, on oil-based inputs, on water, on capital). Any increases to agricultural output were merely incidental, a happy gloss for the newspapers.

Radical position, I know, but there are thoughtful, intelligent and well informed people out there who will make just this argument. If you have the courage, you might seek them out yourself. Start with India, as others have suggested.

For the larger context in which it all occurred, you might try A Century of War by F. William Engdahl. It's back in print and well worth your $20 and a weekend to read.

Not OP, but I asked the same question years ago and I compiled this list:

​

1. This is the best book on the subject that I've read. It is as fair to both sides as one can be. In fact, I came away with a better understanding of how and why the Palestinians feel the way that they do after reading the book.
   
   ​
   
   
2. The Arab Spring. This is a great journey through all of the countries affected by The Arab Spring. It helps understand where we are now.
   
   ​
   
   
3. The Prize. Technically, it is the history of the oil industry. As you should expect, it covers a lot of ME history, too.
   
   ​
   
   
4. Black Flags: The Rise of ISIS This book helps you understand how radical ISIS really is compared to AQ.
   
   ​
   
   
5. Michael Oren has two good books: Six Days of War and Power, Faith, and Fantasy. Despite Oren's affiliation with Israel, his books are fair and interesting reads.
   
   ​
   
   A book on the fall of the Ottoman Empire is another good place to start. I have not read this one yet. I've heard that it is a good read.
   
   ​
   
   ​

If you're interested in what radiation sickness does to a person, there have been cases of it and in particular this book describes the 83 day path to death one unlucky man experienced because of: "the direct cause of the accident was cited as the depositing of a uranyl nitrate solution--containing about 16.6 kg of uranium, which exceeded the critical mass--into a precipitation tank."

It's pretty ridiculous.

I have an eccentric obsession with the oil/energy industry. Some of these books were mentioned already, but below are my absolute favorites:

• The Prize
  
• The Frackers
  
• Oil 101
  
• The Big Rich
  
• The King of Oil
  
• Fundamentals of Investing in Oil and Gas
  
• The Smartest Guys in the Room
  
• The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels
  
  If you're looking for a history of oil and gas check out The Prize, and The Frackers covers the more recent energy revolution. Oil 101 and Fundamentals of Investing in Oil and Gas deal more with the technical side.

Daniel Yergin's The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, and Power

Historical account of the oil industry, which is particularly relevant in today's markets.

Recycle your angst as action. I find that working at promoting solutions and critiquing policy and talking truth to power really helps my mental state. If you are not sure how to proceed, get training - https://www.climaterealityproject.org/training space is available in Atlanta and Brisbane. Read, Hal Harvey's book is a bit dry but full of ways we can talk truth to power and have real results. Designing Climate Solutions: A Policy Guide for Low-Carbon Energy
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1610919564/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_onzyCbASCN63Q

After a couple of years of taking my actions seriously I have started to see changes happening that I have directly influenced. Working the issues works!

Oil on the market is what they call 'fungible'. What that means in practice is that all the oil on the export market acts like it all goes into one huge wholesale pool, and from there is divided up by customer. So it really doesn't matter where the oil country A is produced. All the suppliers are getting the market price.^1 And since most of the oil that one nation can import from another nations is exported by an OPEC nation,^2 picking one over another really has no impact on the earnings of any of them. The reason being is that the production capacity of exportable oil isn't that far greater than the import demand. It is larger, which is why OPEC keeps trying to convince its members to restrict output. But it's not so much greater that any of the exporters could be cut out of the system.

So for example the US refuses to buy from Iran. Fine. Iran sells to India and China instead. And the US buys the same amount from Mexico, Canada, Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, others. It all just washes out.

The importers lack the threat of simply collectively boycotting imports. For their economies are far too dependent on imported oil to function on a day to day basis. Importers attempt to limit imports by high taxes to discourage use, or by maximizing domestic production, or regulations to discourage use. But those policies only very slowly change energy consumption patterns.

For a history of oil production, see Pulitizer Prize winning book The Prize by Yergin.


^1 Just to keep things from getting confused on this, not all oil is created equal. Some is of a quality which is easier or less costly to refine into usable products. Some comes from locations that are far less costly than others to produce. Some are in locations which makes export much more economically viable due to geography.

^2 Back in the heyday of OPEC, The Soviet Union wasn't the major oil exported that Russia is now. And Canada wasn't exporting like they are today either. And US production was in a relative low spot because the easy stuff had been pumped, and advanced extraction methods like fracking hadn't been invented yet. But Russia's interests more or less align with OPEC's interests. So they aren't really lining up to help the importing nations. And Mexico and Venezuela have long term production problems due to not properly investing to maintain their capacity. So as a whole OPEC's bargaining position is a poor one currently.

I havn't watched this doc yet, but if you're curious to read in depth into this topic, and it's truly fascinating. I can't recommend the book The Prize enough. It's a great read and you'll see how modern power was shaped well into the 20th century.

Thank you for sharing! It was a very interesting documentary. Some thoughts:

• I share the sentiment of others that it was too long and with too many unnecessary "artistic" flourishes, it could easily be edited down to 1 hour without losing any of the actual content or message
  
  
• it misses quite a lot supporting argumentation for its main thesis - especially egregious when you consider the length of the program!
  
  
• just as an example, it completely missed the fact that the very occupation and the inevitable supply management requirements for bases and other military installations meant that the West was in effect funding their enemy and increasing corruption. in effect becoming an ouroboros
  
  
• how? every convoy had to pay "protection money". this protection money was paid by the security companies which were hired to guard and ensure the supply trucks got to their destination safely. the largest of these was owned by Karzai's brother! so the US/European countries were actually paying the Taliban and other groups they deemed as "enemies" - this is factually documented and indisputable and yet 99% of people still to this day do not know about it sources
  
  
• another very important example of the missed opportunity was exploring and educating about Afghanistan's tribal group history and how that has played into the current war. there really is no "afghanistan" but a very loose group of very diverse groups and tribes without any cohesive identity or loyalty anchored to a country or state.
  
  
• just to show you how complex this is, there are about 10 main ethnic groups, of them the pashtun are the largest and they are sub-divided into 4 main tribal groups. The Westerners had no idea about the existence of this very complex maze or how to navigate it.
  
  
• Curtis also completely avoids mentioning anything about Iran and the role it played in all this. During the historic events outlined in the documentary Iran went through major transformations and was a key player. This included the Shah's tenuous grip on power, his modernization schemes, the backlash against him by Islamists (shia as opposed to the sunni wahabi), the rise of the shia theocratic political power base, Khomenini's version of shia which was a distortion of previous shia theology and included a new shia version of the 'caliphate': velayte faqih, the export of this ideology similar to the export of wahabism (we see this in Hizbollah, and more recently the Houthis in Yemen) and the powerstruggle between wahabism and Iran's version of shiah
  
  
• the sections of the documentary which touched on the 2008 financial crisis were shoehorned in and not really an accurate description of what happened or why - if you're interested in wtf happened I suggest you watch frontline's documentary
  
  
  edit: added links incl. sources/documentation

i said that he didn't need to have any business knowledge, his fortune was made off of a technology that none of his competitors had, which gave him an absolute edge - it's like being able to buy stock at a 50% discount and then sell it at full value on the open market.

one of the last things i mentioned was that fred koch was a great businessman and chemist - my intention was to insinuate that failure was nearly impossible under that set of circumstances. he was in an almost constant legal battle with the enormous e&p monopolies of the time, he brought his technology to the ussr when he couldn't use it stateside, and he created the platform for an oil services/technology company in probably the best time in early american history to do so. he was booming while the stock market was crashing and his innovations in using lighter napthas to create more gasoline out of the same amount of crude oil made rock island oil into the empire that it is now.

if i'm being candid, i wasn't expecting to be asked for sources since people post complete bullshit here all the time, and my original post is clearly littered with my opinions and isn't intended to be an academic exercise..

i'll give you a list but you might have to go to the library or hit up amazon

sons of wichita - dan schulman (the book's alright but gives insight to the early generations of the koch family rather than brothers)

oil 101 - morgan downey (describes the oil industry from top to bottom in a digestbile and interesting way, totally recommend if you're even sligthly interested in learning about the industry - describes cracking as it relates to refining business)



you can easily google the history of koch industries too, as well as excerpts from the books.

As were Bush, Reagan, and numerous other high ranking US officials, both military and civilian. There have long been close links between Riyadh and DC. For good reason.

The House of Saud, while now a convenient boogeyman for those with no sense of even recent history, has provided not just oil for many decades when there were inadequate supplies in North America (and Europe), but more importantly has been a key ally in the gulf, a place where instability is the natural state, and where Wahhabism especially would rapidly fill a power vacuum.

Is Saudi Arabia an ideal ally? No. We have many differences with them. But they are far better than the alternative. Through taking donations from the Saudis, Clinton was shoring up an important relationship while furthering the impact of her family foundation.

So you can criticize Clinton's relationship with the House of Saud, but see how quickly Trump cozies up to them.

I guess in summary, two things. One, these things aren't black and white, as cute as it may be. And second, keep your friends close and your enemies closer.

For more detail you can read the following:

https://www.amazon.com/Inside-Kingdom-Modernists-Terrorists-Struggle/dp/0143118277

https://www.amazon.ca/Prize-Epic-Quest-Money-Power/dp/1439110123

If you were a man (or a woman - there were a lot of women in the California Gold Rush) in California (I can't speak to other places in the international mining frontier), you would have two choices with your nugget (or, more likely, your gold dust). It could be traded for goods in the area where you were working. Or you could make it to an assayer or bank in one of the established communities nearby. There, you would receive the $16 per ounce minus a commission. That is assuming your gold had good color.

The gold from Gold Canyon in the Western Great Basin (which would become the Comstock Mining District after the strikes of 1859) produced a pale gold, which only fetched $12 per ounce because it was apparently mixed with some other metal. That other metal turned out to be silver, which traded at 1/10th the value of gold, or about $1.60.

A good source on mining in this early period of the Comstock is Grant Smith's History of the Comstock. For the California Gold Rush, I recommend this.

such an excellent, quick and uplifting read this book was http://www.amazon.com/Slow-Death-Days-Radiation-Sickness/dp/1934287407

> those panels can't serve the evening peak once the sun has gone down.

CSP plants that use thermal tech do that just fine. Clean Disruption does a good job of explaining the issues with Nuclear as a renewable source if you're interested.

I'm not against nuclear personally, but there are strong economic arguments against its use (which is a shame because chucking up a bunch of them would be great in an ideal world).

hey I read that! Matt Simmons ended up being dead wrong about peak oil, but otherwise I enjoyed the book. But The Prize by Daniel Yergin is the king of oil books - it is brilliant.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Prize-Quest-Money-Power/dp/1439110123/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=04AERX02B4996WQXBJA0****

The Prize by Daniel Yergin is a great history of the O&G industry.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1439110123/ref=redir_mdp_mobile/188-3799228-4803548

https://www.amazon.com/Price-Justice-Story-Greed-Corruption/dp/1250048680

Any West Virginian that hasn't read this book should do so immediately. What Blankenship did was despicable. We still have a WV supreme court justice that was party to this shit still serving!

The first video is just a summary of Tony Seba's most recent book, which is well-cited. As I said, I have some small issues with the details, but the general picture is accurate: it will be cheaper to produce electricity 24/7, including overcapacity and storage, with solar than with any fossil fuels everywhere except the high latitudes by 2030.

The key assumptions this case makes are that 1) Swanson's Law will continue to hold in driving the cost of PV lower for at least 15 more years, and 2) the assumption that battery storage will continue to follow its current curve of around 8% improvement per year (although Tesla's gigafactory is likely to put us slightly ahead of the curve starting in 2017).

If you want to argue against the 2030 projection, you have to argue that one or both of those assumptions is wrong. Few people are doing so, including most notably the utility sector which is already withdrawing fossil-fuel-based generation capital investments in high-insolation areas like California, Texas, Arizona, Nevada, etc.

This is the latest sector report from RethinkX, the think tank founded by entrepreneur and technology theorist Tony Seba who literally wrote the book on the Clean Disruption of energy and transportation.

A few highlights of our findings from the report:

Industry Impacts

• By 2030, the number of cows in the U.S. will have fallen by 50%. Production volumes of the U.S. beef and dairy industries and their suppliers will be cut by more than half.
  
• By 2030, the market for ground beef by volume will have shrunk by 70%, the steak market by 30% and the dairy market by almost 90%. The markets for other cow products (leather, collagen, etc.) are likely to decline by more than 90%. In total, demand for cow products will fall by 70%.
  
• By 2030, the U.S. dairy and cattle industries will have collapsed, leaving only local specialty farms in operation.
  
• By 2035, demand for cow products will fall by 80%-90% and U.S. beef and dairy industry (and their suppliers) revenues, at current prices, will be down nearly 90%.
  
• Farmland values will collapse by 40%-80%.
  
• The volume of crops needed to feed cattle in the U.S. will fall by 50% from 155 million tons in 2018 to 80 million tons in 2030, causing cattle feed production revenues, at current prices, to fall by more than 50% from 60 billion in 2019 to less than $30 billion in 2030.
  
• All other livestock industries including fisheries will follow cattle and suffer similar disruptions, while the knock-on effects for throughout the value chain will be severe.
  
  Food Cost Savings:
  
  
• The cost of modern foods and products will be at least 50% and as much as 80% lower than the animal products they replace, which will translate into substantially lower prices and increased disposable incomes. The average U.S. family will save more than $1,200 a year in food costs, keeping an additional $100bn a year in Americans’ pockets by 2030.
  
  Jobs Lost and Gained:
  
  
• Half of the 1.2 million jobs in U.S. beef and dairy production (including supply chain), along with their associated industries, will be lost by 2030, climbing toward 90% by 2035.
  
• The emerging U.S. modern foods industry will create at least 700,000 jobs by 2030 and up to 1 million jobs by 2035.
  
  Land Use and Environmental Impacts:
  
  
• Modern foods will be far more efficient than animal-derived products: Up to 100 times more land efficient, 10-25 times more feedstock efficient, 20 times more time efficient, and 10 times more water efficient than industrial livestock. They will also produce an order of magnitude less waste.
  
• By 2035, 60% of the land currently used for livestock and feed production will be freed for other uses. These 485 million acres equate to 13 times the size of Iowa, an area almost the size of the Louisiana Purchase. If all this land were dedicated to maximize carbon sequestration, all current sources of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions could be fully offset by 2035.
  
• U.S. greenhouse gas emissions from cattle will drop by 60% by 2030, on course to nearly 80% by 2035. Even when the modern food production that replaces animal agriculture is included, net emissions from the sector as a whole will decline by 45% by 2030, on course to 65% by 2035.
  
• Water consumption in cattle production and associated feed cropland irrigation will fall by 50% by 2030, on course to 75% by 2035. Even when the modern food production that replaces animal agriculture is included, net water consumption in the sector as a whole will decline by 35% by 2030, on course to 60% by 2035.
  
• Oil demand from the U.S. agriculture industry (currently 150 million barrels of oil equivalent a year) will fall by at least 50% by 2030.
  
  Health & Food Security:
  
  
• Nutritional benefits could have profound impact on health, particularly conditions such as heart disease, obesity, cancer, and diabetes that are estimated to cost the U.S. $1.7 trillion each year. The way they are produced should also ensure a sharp reduction in foodborne illness.
  
• The modern food system will be decentralized and therefore more stable and resilient, thereby increasing food security.
  
  Geopolitical Implications:
  
  
• Trade relations and geopolitics will shift due to a decentralized food production system.
  
• Any country will be able to capture the opportunities associated with a global industry worth hundreds of billions of dollars.

He goes into further detail in his book on the topic, The Long Emergency

> economically viable for me without endless government assistance

I agree with that only to an extent. The current grid, the nuclear plants, and other energy infrastructure were largely built with government assistance. Nuclear plants usually depend on government-guaranteed loans, plus no private insurance companies will cover their liability for a nuclear incident so the taxpayers are the insurer of last resort if there is a problem. Plus the taxpayers are often stuck with decommissioning costs. Much of our grid and its energy infrastructure was built with government funds and assistance. We do need the energy, after all.

So while I agree that the case offered for wind and solar should be economic rather than green, at least for messaging purposes, we have to make sure we're acknowledging that public investment into our energy infrastructure has been ongoing for about a century. If we're expecting solar and wind to go it alone with zero public support, that is a departure from how we've developed our infrastructure for a very long time.

For the stuff I said about nuclear above, I got the info from chapter 6 of Tony Seba's book Clean Disruption. I really didn't realize how much the government had financed the nuclear industry over the years. But, like I said, we do need the energy. I also recommend the book The Grid for perspective of how long the government has been paying for this infrastructure.

This is a key point in the renewable energy debate. No rational world power will give up on oil when it's required to win WWIII. This book is a good summary, but it's like Starcraft, you have to control the resource expansions to win.

https://www.amazon.com/Prize-Epic-Quest-Money-Power/dp/1439110123

; Or, what happens to oil-dependent communities and countries since 1880

You might want to have look at this. Great book.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Oil-Kings-Arabia-Changed-Balance/dp/1439155186

He was sure to die from being exposed to heavy doses of radioation, so they wanted to study the changes going through his body. There was a book written about it.

This is also a great book that was written by a doctor who happened to be there during the 83 days. Very haunting to read the details in which he describes Ouchi.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1934287407/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pd_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=JFZESI2L2NUJ&coliid=IUK73YX4RJWDE

Edit: Just realized OP already listed the book. Sorry about that.

Oil 101 has good reviews.

Try getting a book and reading it. This one looks good.

Here, read this to answer your questions related to oil trap
http://www.amazon.com/The-Prize-Quest-Money-Power/dp/1439110123

>And I don't know who is really running America.

Then you are not informed on this topic, at all. So stop calling people shills when they point out inaccuracies in your posts.

I'm not gonna just talk shit to you though. The people who control our country comprise what is known as the "Deep State" or "Shadow Government." It is comprised of oligarchs, wealthy families (Rockefeller, Rothschild, Carnegie, DuPont), the Military Industrial Complex (Halliburton, Raytheon, Boeing, etc.), the Intelligencia (CIA, Mossad, etc. and companies who deal in data, surveillance, and information brokering), and of course the corporate state. The Council on Foreign relations represents these peoples' viewpoints in the USA and constantly pushes their policies, and has controlled our government, including the President, since Woodrow Wilson.

Get this book to learn about the CFR and Deep State.

This one is also a fantastic read.

Nice! I have added both to my reading list! The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money & Power sounds really interesting, I have been looking for an older book on the Oil Industry... those greedy bastards always make for a good read! I have found it hard to find books on Oil (or many renewables for that matter) that don't have a little slant.

[Children of the Sun: A History of Humanity's Unappeasable Appetite For Energy ] (https://www.amazon.com/dp/0393931536/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_R02xCbQ1V4B98) looks like a really good in-depth read as well. I think the title of the book sums up an uncomfortable truth about humans in general. I also find that books that take a more general overview of energy have less of that "rah rah" in one direction or the other.

I linked them so others could find them easily!

Look into nontechnical guides that will give you a broad look into the industry and help you understand it without going into the finer details that can be difficult to grasp. Check your school's library as well, often times they will have them available.

Something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Nontechnical-Petroleum-Exploration-Drilling-Production/dp/1593702698

or this: https://www.amazon.com/Oil-Gas-Industry-Nontechnical-Guide/dp/159370254X

Oil 101 by Morgan Downey is a good overview of all parts of the industry. I recommend reading that before getting in depth with other resources recommended here.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0982039204/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_2jZWDbFH6N89N

too late all three are dying

The Long Emergency:

EDIT: all three are dying at different rates. when the USSR collapsed , it's military was intact

Oil 101 for any of you autists who want to learn more about pricing. the global supply and how it all works.

It's not about oil. It's about petrodollar. Saddam Hussein had plan to use euro for its oil export. That was 2000. The US already had war plan for Iraq before 9/11. All these are just a justification. If you are interested in this topic you should start with these books.

Petrodollar Warfare: Oil, Iraq and the Future of the Dollar

A Century of War: Anglo-American Oil Politics and the New World Order

> You mentioned our GDP. 2/3 of our GDP comes from consumer spending.

Consumer spending and the output of the economy is impacted by how much people have to pay for gas, heat, oil, etc ENORMOUSLY(think about how much the average citizen spends on gas throughout a year and then think about them spending that on other things). Like I said you are uneducated in subject matters that are essential to comment on these matters and you are going to go on as if you aren't. All while arguing a position no analyst in the world would(hyperbole).

https://www.amazon.com/Ascent-Money-Financial-History-World/dp/0143116177/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1466453148&sr=8-1&keywords=Ascent+of+money

https://www.amazon.com/Prize-Epic-Quest-Money-Power/dp/1439110123/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1466453203&sr=8-1&keywords=The+prize

Read these two books and you will have a clearer picture of this macro picture I was referring to and you will understand how absurd your position is. The ascent of money was made into a pbs documentary, albeit a 4 hour one. It doesn't do the book justice though.

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/ascentofmoney/

The Prize was a Pulitzer Prize, non fiction book that will educate you on oil and why the middle east is important.

https://careers.state.gov/work/foreign-service/suggested-reading
Click on the suggested reading list on that page.

To get the whole macro picture I was referring to, read these books. You may want to start with their recommended International Relations textbook. These are books the State Department recommends you read if you are going to negotiate and do diplomacy on behalf of United States government(pretty hardcore stuff).


Best of luck with your studies/investigations and enjoy the rabbit hole, it really is an eye opener into another world that is not really discussed in the media.

There so many specialized books out there about the O&G life-cycle. Oil 101 is definitely a place to start. Aside from that, understand the step of the O&G life-cycle that your project will focus on and do a deep dive as needed. Ex: Is it exploration, appraisal, development, production, abandonment, etc.?

Few books I would recommend besides Oil 101,

1. Nontechnical Guide to Petroleum Geology, Exploration, Drilling & Production - https://www.amazon.com/Nontechnical-Petroleum-Exploration-Drilling-Production/dp/1593702698/
   
2. Deepwater Petroleum Exploration & Production: A Nontechnical Guide - https://www.amazon.com/Deepwater-Petroleum-Exploration-Production-Nontechnical/dp/1593702531/
   
3. The Global Oil & Gas Industry: Management, Strategy and Finance - https://www.amazon.com/Global-Oil-Gas-Industry-Management/dp/1593702396/

It's a long read, but it's thorough - http://www.amazon.com/The-Prize-Quest-Money-Power/dp/1439110123

I'll never forget reading The Prize by Daniel Yeargin. He simultaneously tries to tell you about how Standard Oil was some unstoppable monopoly...while also telling you about how Branobel was eating away at their monopoly. They got to something like 30% before Stand Oil got trust-busted. So trust-busting only came after Standard's market position was already eroding.

Go read history books instead of copying out-of-context newspaper quotes -
US interest in the mid-east started in ww2 - FDR signed an alliance with Saudi Kind that stands to this day. Israel was not even a country back then.

The US army does not fight wars for Israel - even though Israel does benefit from some of those - and Israeli politicians like to take credit for having influence in the US (does not mean they actually do).

The Israeli army on the other hand did fight a war purely for the US - in which 3000 of its soldiers died (equivalent to US casualties Vietnam in terms of relative population size) and many more injures - it was in October 1973 and it was a war in which the US administration demanded Israel does not strike early even when Egyptian and Syrian forces were massing at its borders. The reason? US wanted the Suez Canal - and Egyptian president promised to give it if US "gives" him a victory over Israel.


TL;DR

Read/Watch The Prize - understand the importance of oil to (American) strategic thinking post ww2. Stop thinking things in the world have reason X or nation Y behind it - it's simplistic wishful thinking. World is complex, though cookie.

Sorry, but it is your attitude that is wrong. Which can be seen here.

There is a big difference between discussing and randomly ranting without evidence.

Regarding the Islamic Republic

Every government needs a mirror of their actions. If we forbid criticism, we are not able to improve as a society nor in terms of economics.

Thinking that Iran is doing perfectly fine, is a mistake many people on this sub are doing. Yes, Iran is doing great in some areas. But also doing utterly bad in others. Because we Iranians love to make some metaphors:

>If you are studying and you forbid someone to give you feedback about your work. How are you able to improve?

There are many areas where Iran needs to improve. So we should allow criticism:

• Fuel Smuggling in Iran is costing billions of dollars each year.
  
• Renewables are helping Iran to reduce water usage and reliance on oil & gas.
  
• Why letting China in Iran is not a good thing.
  
• Iran's water crisis due its self-sufficiency policy.
  
  

  Regarding Shah
  

  
  Talking about the time of Shah is always very complex, since information is only in books, statistics or through hearsay available. It is not like the time of the IR where you are whelmed with information.
  
  When you look at every discussion about Shah, people often look at the arguments as "Pro-Shah" or "Anti-Shah" - which prevents having meaningful discussions. These are exact the same group that we have today: "Pro-IR" or "Anti-IR". We need to start to look at the facts instead of letting our emotions in.
  
  Shah's time was a very difficult one. People always forget that Iran was at war back then and often don't understand the economic situation Iran was facing. Saudi Arabia was also playing a significant role in the IR revolution.
  
  The Oil Kings is a good starter for those, who are interested in the time of Shah with a relation to Iran's current situation. It looks at the economic point of view. Here is an excerpt of the last years - thanks to u/FirstMaybe
  
  >In 1977, one year before the outbreak of revolutionary unrest in Iran, oil markets had been paralyzed by a bitter split among members of OPEC over how much to charge consumers. The Shah of Iran had proposed a 15 percent price hike for the coming year. King Khalid of Saudi Arabia had resisted the Shah’s entreaties and argued that no price increase was warranted at a time when Western economies were mired in recession. The Shah won the day and persuaded the rest of OPEC to join him in adopting a double-digit price increase for 1977.
  >
  >The Saudi response was swift and ruthless. Riyadh announced it would take drastic steps to ensure that Iran’s new price regime never took effect. It would do this by exceeding its production quota, pumping surplus oil onto the market, and undercutting the higher price offered by its competitors. Overnight, Iran lost billions of dollars in anticipated oil revenue. The Shah’s government, reeling from the blow, was forced to take out a bridge loan from foreign banks. It made deep cuts to domestic spending in an attempt to balance the books and implemented an austerity plan that threw tens of thousands of young Iranian men out of work and into the streets. The economic chaos that ensued helped turn Iranian public opinion against the royal family.''
  
  And here is why the Shah wanted to increase the oil price:
  
  

• Why the Shah was not backed by the West anymore. (which includes some interviews and statistics)
  
  

  Conclusion
  

  
  Again: We need to look at the facts instead of letting our emotions in and preventing us from having a meaningful discussion. Almost every user on r/Iran needs to get approval from the moderator to be able to post something. If it contradicts the view of the mods, it will be deleted. I don't see that here u/faloodehx and I hope I won't see that, since it helps us to improve our understanding of our history by discussing about it.
  
  ​
  
  Just want to have some input from you guys, am I right or wrong about my view?
  
  u/ralad
  
  u/Freak2121
  
  u/Probably_A_Box
  
  u/Mr_Pollos
  
  u/CYAXARES_II

That book is best read with

https://www.amazon.com/Oil-Kings-Arabia-Changed-Balance/dp/1439155186

How some interests in America and the kings of Iran and Saudi Arabia f'ked up the world for their benefits.

As a more personal aside, I think that The Prize is a really interesting book; however, it is not truly focused on engineering but more on the impact of the "most influential industry in history."

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2016-05-30/the-untold-story-behind-saudi-arabia-s-41-year-u-s-debt-secret

https://www.amazon.com/Oil-Kings-Arabia-Changed-Balance/dp/1439155186

I just picked up a copy of The Global Oil and Gas Industry: Management, Strategy, and Finance from the library. It's been a fascinating look into the business side of the field and the various incentives of the major players.

Ohh! You should definitely look into The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, and Power by Daniel Yergin.

It depicts the history of the global petroleum industry from the 1850s through 1990.

Its extremely well written and an incredibly powerful part of human history.

Link: http://www.amazon.com/The-Prize-Quest-Money-Power/dp/1439110123

I just finished reading The Prize and I can't recommend it enough for someone interested in the boom and bust cycle of oil. The oil industry makes a perfect case study for how interrelated feedback loops can surprise even the most informed expert.

Start with The Prize. If you want to understand the economics of oil you need to understand the history of the business, the player's, the Middle East (especially Saudi Arabia) and the Caspian.

These are some great books to help you understand the industry better:

The King of Oil: The Secret Lives of Marc Rich

The Oil and the Glory: The Pursuit of Empire and Fortune on the Caspian Sea

Private Empire: ExxonMobil and American Power

The Seven Sisters: The great oil companies & the world they shaped

The Bin Ladens: An Arabian Family in the American Century

The Handbook of Global Energy Policy

Or... the Long Emergency...

http://www.amazon.com/Long-Emergency-Converging-Catastrophes-Twenty-First/dp/0871138883

There's a book available through amazon about it. Interesting read.

http://www.amazon.com/Slow-Death-Days-Radiation-Sickness/dp/1934287407

The Prize: http://www.amazon.com/Prize-Quest-Money-Power-ebook/dp/B004T4KKSA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1374704067&sr=8-1&keywords=The+Prize is also relevant here. It spends an extensive amount of time on this event.

Great book. it did change my point of view on several things relating to Oil and the Oil business.

The Prize by Daniel Yergin

This is the history of oil. I felt like I saw the word in a very different way after learning how oil had been so important to so many crucial moments of modern history. You will come out of the book seeing modern politics in a very different light.

Basically if you are from the EU (or China, or whereever that's not the USA) and you want to by crude you will have to pay in USD as most countries will only sell in USA. Therefore you have to buy USD then buy your oil, this creates demand for the dollar and keeps it's price up.

The ME countries (read as the twats in charge of them) would typically end up with more USD than they knew what to do with in their own country and would start spending elsewhere, typically on US products.

That's the TL:DR of it, though if your interested in the oil industry and it's history i'd really recommend The Prize though there is a youtube series as well here but i haven't watched that.

> We can't consume our way out of climate change.

I don't want to be completely dismissive of your statement (I know your heart is in the right place), but there is a strong argument that, paradoxically, consumption is exactly how we're going to solve climate change, because the more solar and wind are bought, the more the price goes down and the more lithium ion batteries are bought, the more the price goes down.

The fossil fuel and ICE car industries are being disrupted by cheaper renewables and electric vehicles, and it could be happening much more rapidly than anyone thinks. Please see this book if interested, by a Stanford professor who has researched this subject very deeply:

www.amazon.com/Clean-Disruption-Energy-Transportation-Conventional/dp/0692210539/

Haha sorry, my dad used to work on a rig and he really like this book.

On a slightly more on topic note, are oil rigs any safer to be on today than they were 30 odd years ago? My dad has some real horror stories...

EDIT - just read a few more of your replies and realised you work on a land rig, as opposed to an offshore one. Still, are there many risks associated with working on one?

A book on novel writing.

Anything be Jared Diamond.

The Prize.

If he likes Mac, a subscription to MacWorld.

It's like I'm listing off everything my husband likes. :-P

If you guys wanna read about it:

https://www.amazon.com/Slow-Death-Days-Radiation-Sickness/dp/1934287407

I haven't read it yet but Oil 101 was recommended to learn about the Oil industry.

Osama bin Laden was not acting at the direction of the Saudi government. I believe O. B. L. had been disowned by his own family, the Saudi royal family and had had his Saudi citizenship revoked.


The Road to 9/11: A Brief History of Conflict in the Middle East

Meeting Osama Bin Laden

House of Bush, House of Saud

The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11

The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money & Power

If you really want to know, you should read Prize - The Epic Quest for Money, Oil and Power. It's basically a parallel history book of the last 150 years and helps explain geopolitical motivations and power struggles, almost all of which are either started by or kept up because of access to oil.

Which is to say, security of and access to, oil is as much as a priority to our national interest as having an anti-missile defense system.

I’m not joking nor am I uneducated on the topic. In this book numerous examples are given.

[Oil 101]
(https://www.amazon.com/Oil-101-Morgan-Downey/dp/0982039204)
isn't bad. [Masting the Grain Markets] (https://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Grain-Markets-Profits-Really/dp/1477582967) also isn't bad. Neither will teach you everything you need to know, that will only come on the job.

Russia has Europe by the fossil-fuel balls. This 'cold war mentality' was predicted by everyone who realized that energy is the gateway resource to all other resources, with Russia being the highest EROEI country in the world.

Maybe if the US successfully collapses Venezuela and Iran, and exploits their energy the confrontation with Russia will pitter out. Another possibility is former allies like Germany openly move to Russia's side.

"The Prize" by Daniel Yergin is a long but fun place to start. Bit more historical.

I've read otherwise.

https://www.amazon.com/Dont-Tell-Mum-Work-Rigs/dp/1857883772

I don't know of any that compare, but, the Napoleon's Buttons is SUPPOSED to be good.

http://www.amazon.com/Napoleons-Buttons-Molecules-Changed-History/dp/1585423319/

Other books, engineering related, that I liked are:

Norm Lieberman's Process Troubleshooting books, the guy cracks me up!

Working Guide to Process Equipment (3rd edition probably cheaper): http://www.amazon.com/Working-Guide-Process-Equipment-Fourth/dp/0071828060/

Process Equipment Malfunctions (not as good as the other one, some overlap, but still worthwhile, and covers more breadth for individual issues): http://www.amazon.com/Process-Equipment-Malfunctions-Techniques-Identify/dp/0071770208/

The Prize (mentioned above): http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1439110123/ref=redir_mdp_mobile/188-3799228-4803548

The Quest (Follow on to The Prize): http://www.amazon.com/Quest-Energy-Security-Remaking-Modern/dp/0143121944/

Oil 101: http://www.amazon.com/Oil-101-Morgan-Downey/dp/0982039204/

The Mythical Man Month (Not engineering directly as it pertains to software, but, projects and project management are huge in engineering, though this book is timeless): http://www.amazon.com/Mythical-Man-Month-Software-Engineering-Anniversary/dp/0201835959/

Piping Systems Manual (You can NEVER know enough about pipe!): http://www.amazon.com/Piping-Systems-Manual-Brian-Silowash/dp/0071592768/

Pumps and Pumping Operations (OMG it is $4, hardcover, go buy now! This book is great... did you know OSU didn't teach their Chem E's about pumps? I was flabbergasted, gave this to our intern and he became not a scrub by learning about pumps!): http://www.amazon.com/Pumping-Operations-Prentice-Pollution-Equipment/dp/0137393199/

Any good engineer needs to understand MONEY too:

The Ascent of Money: http://www.amazon.com/Ascent-Money-Financial-History-World/dp/0143116177/

It's Nial Fergesuon, who has had his own series of dramas and dumb stuff. The Ascent of Money has a SLIGHT libertarian tinge... but it wasn't bad enough that I didn't enjoy it. I consider it a history book, and he attempts to write it like one.

Have fun!

Paul Carter's Don't Tell Mum I Work on the Rigs: She Thinks I'm a Piano Player in a Whorehouse.

Learn about Shale Gas, OPEC, and what recently has been happening to the price of crude oil I'm certain they will ask about that.

This is also a great book
http://www.amazon.com/Prize-Epic-Quest-Money-Power/dp/1439110123/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1420766548&sr=8-5&keywords=oil+and+gas

Any book you pick up is going to be good, but my favorite reads are Butte specific, since Butte played an outsized role in the early history of the state and everything that happened in Butte was big for the time.

War of the Copper Kings by C.B. Glasscock is about how the three Copper Kings ran mini-enclaves and controlled the government and courts of the state, waged literal wars underground, and the labor and corporate battles that played out for 40 years before Anaconda won the pot.

Fire and Brimstone by Michael Punke which covers the deadliest hard-rock mining disaster in US history, in which 167 men lost their lives. It's very well written and researched.

I haven't read this one yet and while it may not be up your alley, The City That Ate Itself by Brian James Leech is a more recent history of Butte and covers the social and economic impact of open-pit hard-rock mining on the community it consumes.

I hope you read some of these and enjoy them!

/r/SecurityAnalysis maintain a decent reading list.

The following is taken from it:

History

• A History of Financial Speculation - Edward Chancellor
  
  
• A Short History of Financial Euphoria - Kenneth Galbraith
  
  
• Barbarians at The Gate - Bryan Burruough
  
  
• Irrational Exuberance - Robert Shiller
  
  
• Liar's Poker - Michael Lewis
  
  
• Manias, Panics and Crashes - Charles Kindleberger
  
  
• Money of the Mind - James Grant
  
  
• Oil 101 - Morgan Downey
  
  
• The Box - Marc Levinson
  
  
• The Prize - Daniel Yergin
  
  
• The Big Short - Michael Lewis
  
  
• The Great Crash of 1929 - Kenneth Galbraith
  
  
• The Panic of 1907 - Robert Brunner
  
  
• The Predators Ball - Connie Bruck
  
  
• This Time Is Different - Rogoff & Reinhart
  
  
• Too Big to Fail - Andrew Ross Sorkin
  
  
• US Bank Deregulation in A Historical Perspective - Charles Calomiris
  
  
• When Genius Failed - Roger Lowenstein
  

Even better. Read his [best, IMHO] book:

http://www.amazon.com/Long-Emergency-Converging-Catastrophes-Twenty-First/dp/0871138883

If you're serious, start here for understanding Energy. Then something much more light weight about Oil

Then you can read light edutainment like The Prize with more gain.

https://www.amazon.com/Prize-Epic-Quest-Money-Power/dp/1439110123

Nice, here are some more.

https://rbnenergy.com/

http://www.amazon.com/Oil-101-Morgan-Downey/dp/0982039204

http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/publication/24870/falling_short.html

http://www.theoildrum.com/node/2470

http://www.igu.org/sites/default/files/node-page-field_file/IGU%20-%20World%20LNG%20Report%20-%202014%20Edition.pdf

There is the occasional subreddit food-for-thought, like this

Just got this for xmas, but haven't read it yet... supposed to be good

The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money & Power by Daniel Yergin.

This is a non-fiction narrative masterpiece about more than just the oil industry, but about the driving forces that have shaped the world we live in and the world we will live in. If you want to understand how the 20th century was shaped through the prism of those shaping forces then I recommend reading this book.

Here's subsidies for oil, not to mention all the money that goes into diplomatic/military intervention protecting interests of which I'm sure you're already probably aware. Also, fossil fuels power so much of our economy, so that selective government spending/rights protection also applies to power companies, manufacturing companies... hell really any company that uses fossil fuels more than the average person. Or how bout the grants and subsidies for telecom companies... not to mention the massive government infrastructure spending? Are those not entitlements? How about something as simple as a concert venue that uses public security forces more than your average person. That's a "right" that's selectively applied.

The point is, no matter what, your definition of "rights" are always selectively applied. I'm not even arguing that the above examples are bad things. I like having a regulated telecom infrastructure, and I like the fact that having that infrastructure employs lots and lots of people. I like having security. Hell, I don't like the fact that our gov fights wars in the middle east, but I do like burning fossil fuels that keep me warm and power machinery and electricity. However, if you're just going to justify your position on some philosophical platitude about "rights," I'm sorry but there's no way you can be consistent unless you advocate complete and radical overthrow of the system.

Daniel Yergin's The Prize covers this and more. You can find the TV series based on it on YouTube:

• Our Plan
  
• Empires of Oil
  
• Black Giant
  
• War and Oil
  
• Crude Diplomacy
  
• Power to the Producers
  
• The Tinderbox
  
• New Order of Oil
  

The Prize: http://www.amazon.com/The-Prize-Quest-Money-Power/dp/1439110123
All you ever wanted to know about the last century but had no clue it happened

How accurate is the book "Don't Tell Mum I Work on the Rigs: (She Thinks I'm a Piano Player in a Whorehouse)"?

Amazon link

I cannot find the actual source, I did read some of this in this book but it's not a very reliable one.

Want to explain your statement on how it's one of the most ecologically destructive human behaviors? I can name dozens of things that are worse. In fact, fracking really has very minimal impact on ecology since it takes place 5,000-12,000 feet underground. The worst impact is probably the wastewater it produces, which again is typically disposed off very deep underground- far , far below the water table (unlike Gasland would have you believe, it's quite safe). Maybe all the trucking associated with fracking is what you mean- but the trucking involved with this pales in comparison to the trucking involved in the food industry. If you buy your food at the grocery store or eat at a restaurant, you are causing a problem that's far worse than fracking, strictly in terms of the trucking and packaging waste. But that's no reason to stop eating.... And I'm not saying fracking is totally without impact. It's not perfect but it is done very safely 99.9% of the time.

What people who make statements like yours fail to consider is just how good your life is because of fracking. But that's a very long conversation and you'd have to acknowledge that the petrochemicals aren't inherently evil.

Also, if you'd like I can recommend half a dozen good books on fracking, what it is and what it is not. All of them written by university professors and not industry sponsored. Shale Gas the Promise and the Peril is a great one to start with.


https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/social/swf/B008MP3ELM/o=ShareProduct/ref=tsm_1_aw_swf_d_sp?vs=1

The answer to the headline question is no, a thousand times no.

Even Citi's vice chairman Robert Rubin was blind to e.g. 'liquidity puts' on massive off-balance sheet liabilities, which drastically changed Citi's economics to put in mildly. If Citi doesn't understand their own balance sheet, what chance have you got?

Even Warren Buffett sometimes gets blindsided. For instance, Amazon's cloud is eating IBM's lunch of running corporate IT departments and data centers, commoditizing what used to be a high-ticket, high-margin service business.

Even Warren Buffett puts a lot of stuff (most stuff?) in the too hard pile. Especially Warren Buffett.

You don't have to understand how to drill an oil well (although it helps, see e.g. http://amzn.to/24hNwlw , http://amzn.to/1sIYV22 ). What you have to understand is whether we're going to keep drilling oil wells, whether the guys who own and drill wells are going to keep needing Halliburton, and whether Halliburton can keep earning, growing and making a good return on capital re-invested.

The first place to start is with The Prize (https://www.amazon.com/Prize-Epic-Quest-Money-Power/dp/1439110123) to get a sense of historical context.

[Amazon] (http://www.amazon.com/The-Prize-ebook/dp/B004T4KKSA/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1335199674&sr=1-1)

Tal vez esperabas algún link para una versión "gratuita", pero yo la compré después de haber leído preview que te da Amazon, te aseguro que te vas a enganchar con las primeras páginas.

Si no tienes Kindle, descarga la aplicación para PC, mac o móvil.

You're a fucking dumbass.

Within the first TWO TO FOUR MONTHS of the bombings, the acute effects killed 90,000–166,000 people in Hiroshima and 60,000–80,000 in Nagasaki,[1] with roughly HALF of the deaths in each city occurring on the first day.

During the following MONTHS, large numbers died from the effect of burns, radiation sickness, and other injuries, compounded by illness. In a U.S.

http://www.amazon.com/Slow-Death-Days-Radiation-Sickness/dp/1934287407

"fairly quick" eh? Shut the fuck up.

Read this

Don’t take my word for it:

Clean Disruption of Energy and Transportation: How Silicon Valley Will Make Oil, Nuclear, Natural Gas, Coal, Electric Utilities and Conventional Cars Obsolete by 2030 https://www.amazon.com/dp/0692210539/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_zk.7Ab6XXDYSB