Societies beyond oil: oil dregs and social futures

Description

About the author; Title page; Copyright; Table of contents; Acknowledgments; Introduction: The Problem of Energy; Energy; Oil; Summarizing the argument; The problem of oil is 42; PART I Oil Dregs; Chapter 1: Oil and the Crash of 2007-08; Oil and money; Neoliberalism; Sprawltown; Conclusion; Chapter 2: The Century of Oil; Humans and nature; The origins of oil civilization; Figure 2.1 Sources of global carbon emissions, 1800-2010; Conclusion; Chapter 3: Consuming Miles; Consuming from afar; Dubai; From neighbourhood lives; Places for consuming; More consumers; Conclusion.;In this groundbreaking book, John Urry shows how the twentieth century created a mirage of unlimited future growth that masked its limits. He considers the nature of an oil-dependent world facing energy descent and what lessons can be learned from past energy-constrained societies. With no large-scale plan B to energize and mobilize societies, Urry assesses the likelihood of some very different futures for this century.