Oil, Money, and Our Modern Civilization

Abstract

The modern world runs on oil and money. Money has no intrinsic value, but it grants access to oil and the energy-intense products derived from oil—that is, a large part of the goods and services of the modern society. Oil and money are linked as cheap energy—mainly oil based—has fueled the economic prosperity of the past century. An appropriate term for the geological and the economic time in which we live in is the oleocene—the age of oil. Although some have said that we live in an information age or a postindustrial age it is clear that our life is based fundamentally on hydrocarbons. Just look around. Oil and gas are, however, finite natural resources that were formed only under very rare and special conditions in the geological past, which means that they are subject to depletion. Today for every gallon used one less remains: it is a simple concept to grasp. Think of a glass of beer (e.g., Guinness stout) in your hand after the bar has run out of beer. You take a sip and there is less in the glass (Fig. 2.1). Of course, you may find another open bar if you are lucky enough. Now think all the beer factories are out of business. Would you drink that beer in your hand as fast as the previous ones? You could import your beer from bars abroad (remember all factories are closed), or go to other countries to have a drink, if you can afford it, of course. Understand this and you can begin to understand our basic situation with respect to oil. This is why our account of the modern economy must begin long before the advent of the international oil companies or the development of the stock exchange market where oil is bought and sold. This is a story about geological processes, and geologists have a different sense of time than most others. So for our story, we have to go back to the dawn of time. Then we can see the very special and almost impossible sequence of events that have led to today’s industrialized human society.