Drilling Down

The Gulf Oil Debacle and Our Energy Dilemma

Nonfiction, Science & Nature, Technology, Environmental, Business & Finance, Industries & Professions, Industries, Nature
Cover of the book Drilling Down by Joseph A. Tainter, Tadeusz W. Patzek, Springer New York
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Joseph A. Tainter, Tadeusz W. Patzek ISBN: 9781441976772
Publisher: Springer New York Publication: September 18, 2011
Imprint: Copernicus Language: English
Author: Joseph A. Tainter, Tadeusz W. Patzek
ISBN: 9781441976772
Publisher: Springer New York
Publication: September 18, 2011
Imprint: Copernicus
Language: English

For more than a century, oil has been the engine of growth for a society that delivers an unprecedented standard of living to many. We now take for granted that economic growth is good, necessary, and even inevitable, but also feel a sense of unease about the simultaneous growth of complexity in the processes and institutions that generate and manage that growth. As societies grow more complex through the bounty of cheap energy, they also confront problems that seem to increase in number and severity. In this era of fossil fuels, cheap energy and increasing complexity have been in a mutually-reinforcing spiral. The more energy we have and the more problems our societies confront, the more we grow complex and require still more energy. How did our demand for energy, our technological prowess, the resulting need for complex problem solving, and the end of easy oil conspire to make the Deepwater Horizon oil spill increasingly likely, if not inevitable? This book explains the real causal factors leading up to the worst environmental catastrophe in U.S. history, a disaster from which it will take decades to recover.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

For more than a century, oil has been the engine of growth for a society that delivers an unprecedented standard of living to many. We now take for granted that economic growth is good, necessary, and even inevitable, but also feel a sense of unease about the simultaneous growth of complexity in the processes and institutions that generate and manage that growth. As societies grow more complex through the bounty of cheap energy, they also confront problems that seem to increase in number and severity. In this era of fossil fuels, cheap energy and increasing complexity have been in a mutually-reinforcing spiral. The more energy we have and the more problems our societies confront, the more we grow complex and require still more energy. How did our demand for energy, our technological prowess, the resulting need for complex problem solving, and the end of easy oil conspire to make the Deepwater Horizon oil spill increasingly likely, if not inevitable? This book explains the real causal factors leading up to the worst environmental catastrophe in U.S. history, a disaster from which it will take decades to recover.

More books from Springer New York

Cover of the book On-Chip Interconnect with aelite by Joseph A. Tainter, Tadeusz W. Patzek
Cover of the book Handbook of Gas Sensor Materials by Joseph A. Tainter, Tadeusz W. Patzek
Cover of the book Thermal History of Sedimentary Basins by Joseph A. Tainter, Tadeusz W. Patzek
Cover of the book Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology Vol 203 by Joseph A. Tainter, Tadeusz W. Patzek
Cover of the book Dyspepsia in Clinical Practice by Joseph A. Tainter, Tadeusz W. Patzek
Cover of the book Biomedical Advances in HIV Prevention by Joseph A. Tainter, Tadeusz W. Patzek
Cover of the book Poverty and Exclusion in the Western Balkans by Joseph A. Tainter, Tadeusz W. Patzek
Cover of the book Atlas of Pediatric Cutaneous Biodiversity by Joseph A. Tainter, Tadeusz W. Patzek
Cover of the book Cancer Biology and the Nuclear Envelope by Joseph A. Tainter, Tadeusz W. Patzek
Cover of the book Knowledge Perspectives of New Product Development by Joseph A. Tainter, Tadeusz W. Patzek
Cover of the book Towards a Northeast Asian Security Community by Joseph A. Tainter, Tadeusz W. Patzek
Cover of the book Atlas of Medical Renal Pathology by Joseph A. Tainter, Tadeusz W. Patzek
Cover of the book Digitally-Assisted Analog and RF CMOS Circuit Design for Software-Defined Radio by Joseph A. Tainter, Tadeusz W. Patzek
Cover of the book Infectious Diseases by Joseph A. Tainter, Tadeusz W. Patzek
Cover of the book Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology Volume 223 by Joseph A. Tainter, Tadeusz W. Patzek
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy