EarthAction

Mapping the Connections Between Oil, Power, and War

Dear Friend,

Much of my career has centered on energy - particularly on the central role that fossil fuels have played in the modern world, and our need to transition away from them. This has been a challenge, to say the least, because most of us are blissfully unaware of our tremendous dependence on fossil fuels (oil most especially) or the cost of that dependence on people and the planet.

Recently Post Carbon Institute partnered with Chelsea Green Publishing to translate, update, and publish French author Matthieu Auanneau's powerful opus on the history of oil. His book, Oil, Power, and War is about oil's rise and eventual fall and will be available to American audiences in mid-November. I was honored to write the foreword.

We want to get this book in front of as many people as possible. And you can help by pre-ordering it now.

"Beautifully written and marvelously translated, Oil, Power, and War provides a detailed history of oil's impact on economic and technical advances - and, in turn, their impact on oil - over the past century. Extending its narrative through the events of early 2018, it offers a profound new understanding of oil's role in war and peace, growth and stagnation; and it casts new light on the foundations of national power and the challenge that lies ahead. A terrific education and an engrossing read."

- Dennis Meadows, co-author of The Limits to Growth

"The definitive history of the rise and eventual fall of oil, brilliantly told. Auzanneau illuminates the history of our time driven by cheap oil and the persistent search for more at all costs. Insightful, authoritative, and essential reading. A dazzling and wise book."

- David Orr, author of Dangerous Years; Paul Sears Distinguished Professor of Environmental Studies and Politics, Oberlin College

Translated from the French, Auzanneau's book offers a comprehensive view of the role oil has played in global conflict, periods of peace, unchecked growth, and ongoing waves of destruction. 

I hope you'll pre-order your own copy today and help us get the word out about this incredible book.

With appreciation,

Richard Heinberg

PCI Senior Fellow

A Divided UN General Assembly Votes on Nuclear Disarmament Resolutions

Last week (Oct 24-30) was UN Disarmament Week, when member states vote on a range of disarmament decisions and resolutions.

Decisions are binding on the United Nations. Resolutions are indications of governments' positions and intent - they are not binding but can be very authoritative and influential if supported by key countries.

The deliberations and votes took place in an environment of increasing tensions between nuclear-armed States, and also an increasing divide between non-nuclear countries and those countries which rely on nuclear weapons for their security.

Click here to read more

Will We See the Trial of the Century?

The midterm election on Nov. 6 is one of the most important in memory. It will decide whether checks and balances will be restored to the federal government and especially to our out-of-control president.

An even more important event is scheduled to take place nine days earlier, however. It could make history by ensuring that our children and future generations have a constitutional right to a livable world. 

On Oct. 29, the United States government is scheduled to go on trial for contributing to global climate change. The trial is the result of a lawsuit, Juliana v United States, filed three years ago by a group of 21 young adults and children. They allege that the federal government is violating their constitutional rights by promoting the use of fossil fuels. Fossil fuel pollution is the principal cause of global warming. 

The Julianas, as I’ll call the young plaintiffs for the sake of simplicity, want the courts to rule that the federal government must stop subsidizing fossil fuels, opening public lands to fuel production, and doing other things that result in carbon pollution. They want the government to rapidly phase out carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from fossil fuel combustion and to develop a national plan to stabilize the climate system and “restore Earth’s energy balance”.  

Finally proceeding to trial would obviously be a big milestone in the Julianas’ long fight through the federal court system. It is not motivated by partisanship. It was filed when Barack Obama was president and it named his as well as many federal agencies as defendants. Now, the Trump Administration is on trial and the U.S. Department of Justice has been fighting furiously to keep the case from being tried.  

Justice Department lawyers have filed motion after motion to have the case dismissed, including legal maneuvers one judge called “rare as hen’s teeth”. But so far, the legitimacy of the case has been upheld repeatedly by a U.S. District Court, a Circuit Court of Appeals, a three-judge panel and even the U.S. Supreme Court.  As I write this, the Supreme Court is deciding yet another late motion by the Justice Department to keep the trial from happening.

By William S. Becker

Read more here