Over the last two centuries, human beings have come to rely on ever-increasing quantities of energy to fuel their rising numbers and improving standards of living. In this volume of RCC Perspectives, scholars from around the world consider how our relationship to energy has changed, why it has changed, and how it may change in the years to come.
Content
In Frigid Embrace, Stephen Haycox explores how the drive to extract natural resources has shaped Alaskans’ understanding of nature and their relationships with the region’s Native people.
Brian Black tells the cultural and environmental history of Oil Creek Valley in Pennsylvania, and investigates the relations among oil production, industrialization, and local residents.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, oil imports in Cuba were halved and food imports reduced by up to 80 percent. This film suggests that, given the perceived immanence of peak oil, there is much to be learned from the Cuban experience.
James C. Williams’s history of energy development and use in California.
Director Peter Mettler takes to the skies in order to probe the scale of the Alberta Tar Sands—one of the largest energy projects on earth—and its environmental impact.
This award-winning film exposes just how deep-rooted our dependency on fossil fuels has become, and what this means for those who live in regions affected by oil extraction and for the future of life itself.
Brent Spar becomes one of Greenpeace’s most succesful campaigns to stop the pollution of the seas.
The oil production and related infrastructural developments severely disrupt the natural equilibrium of this West African ecosystem.
