Oil - The Blood Of The Earth - Part Two - The Historical Dominance Of Oil

by Darren

Oil is such an ingrained part of modern people’s lives, that very few people can probably picture a world without the slippery substance. Once man gave up on horses and embraced the automobile, there’s been a non-stop advancement of industrial expansion. Oil is the Blood of Industry, as well as the Blood of the Earth.

Without oil there would be no United States or modern culture

To examine the history of oil use in the United States, you need look no further than to the story of John D. Rockefeller and Standard Oil. From the time that oil was first pumped out of the Drake Well in Pennsylvania, the search for, and exploitation of oil has been a consuming passion as well as a profitable pastime for many.

No one was better at making money from oil than John D. Rockefeller and his Standard Oil Company. He was ruthless in his quest to monopolize the industry, and in so doing, invented modern business. Rockefeller’s actions with Standard Oil, although considered unethical or even illegal by many, became the blueprints upon which multi-national corporations were designed.

Oil became indispensable for both consumers and business, who relied on it nearly exclusively for transportation. As oil became readily available, consumers were able move further away from their jobs than ever before, and interstate commerce boomed. People quickly became accustomed to the additional freedom they received from having an automobile, and the increase in consumer choice that resulted from businesses being able to geographically expand.

Businesses and consumers became so addicted to cheap oil, that by 1973, when a crisis threatened that cheap oil supply for the first time, it created pandemonium in the public markets. The first actual gas crises was a preview for what will undoubtedly happen if oil goes from abundance to scarcity.

Oil is an absolute necessity for the following segments of society:

1. Business
2. Consumers
3. Government
4. Military

In essence, everyone needs oil. In a world of diminishing oil, there would be increased competition for the remaining resources. On the above list, it’s easy to imagine that consumers would be on the short end of the stick in a situation of chronic oil shortages.

The modern United States, and all of the other countries around the world basing their economies on the “American Model” require increased consumption of resources to continue to flourish, and the increased consumption of petroleum is the main way to sustain that growth. With diminished, or even non-existent oil resources, none of these societies could easily continue their normal routines.

Running out of our primary transportation fuel is the single largest issue facing our society. And experts agree, that we need a solution long before we run out. In the next articles, we’ll examine possible solutions.

Continued from: Oil - The Blood of the Earth - Part One - Overview. Continued in Oil - The Blood of the Earth - Part Three - The Historical Causes of the Oil Crisis.