Societies Beyond Oil : Oil Dregs and Social Futures

What would a de-carbonised society be like? What are the implications of a general de-globalisation for our social futures? How will our high-carbon patterns of life be restructured in a de-energized world? As global society gradually wakes up to the new reality of peak oil, these questions remain unanswered. For the last hundred years oil made the world go round, and as we move into the century of 'tough oil' this book examines some profound consequences. It considers what societies would be like that are powering down; what lessons can be learned from the past about de-energized societies; will there be rationing systems or just the market to allocate scarce energy? Can virtual worlds solve energy problems? What levels of income and wellbeing would be likely? In this groundbreaking book, John Urry analyzes how the twentieth century created a kind of mirage of the future that is unsustainable into even the medium term and envisions the future of an oil-dependent world facing energy descent. Without a large-scale plan B, how can the energizing of society possibly be going into reverse? Democracy and oil part II Social Futures; Chapter 8: Magic Bullet Future; Energy and its futures; Magic bullet of hydrogen; Technological fixes; Conclusion; Chapter 9: Digital Lives; Digital worlds; Digitizing manufacturing; Digitizing social life; The costs of going digital; Conclusion; Chapter 10: Resource Fights; Recent resource wars; Future wars; Conclusion; Chapter 11: Low-carbon Society; The green shoots of a powered-down future; Figure 11.1 Social globalization across the world, 1970-2008; Figure 11.2 Vehicle miles traveled in the USA 1992-2011 (12-month average, billion miles/day) Chapter 4 : Carbon Capital energy inequalities; Establishing carbon capitalism; Combating environmentalism; The noughties; Conclusion; Chapter 5: Peaking; Peak oil thesis; Figure 5.1 The discovery and consumption of oil, 1900-2030; Figure 5.2 North sea oil production, 1965-2010; Tough oil; Political peaking; Climate change and multiple crises; Conclusion; Chapter 6: The Chinese Century?; Oiling Chinese development; Chinese urbanization; Cars in China; Supertankers; China's emissions; Conclusion; Chapter 7: The Curse of Oil; There will be blood; Oil and 'troubled waters'; Norway 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