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Burning Up: A Global History of Fossil Fuel Consumption
Coal, gas, and oil have powered our societies for hundreds of years. But the pace at which we use them changed dramatically in the twentieth of all the fossil fuels ever consumed, more than half were burnt up in the past fifty years alone, the vast majority of that within a single generation. Most worrying of all, this dramatic acceleration has occurred against the backdrop of an increasingly unanimous scientific that their environmental impact is devastating and potentially irreversible.
In Burning Up , Simon Pirani recounts the history of the relentless rise of fossil fuels in the past half century, and lays out the ways in which the expansion of the global capitalist economy has driven it forward. Dispelling common explanations that foreground Western consumerism, as well as arguments about unsustainable population growth, Pirani offers instead an insightful intervention in what is arguably the crisis of our time.
In Burning Up , Simon Pirani recounts the history of the relentless rise of fossil fuels in the past half century, and lays out the ways in which the expansion of the global capitalist economy has driven it forward. Dispelling common explanations that foreground Western consumerism, as well as arguments about unsustainable population growth, Pirani offers instead an insightful intervention in what is arguably the crisis of our time.
272 pages, Paperback
Published August 15, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
January 26, 2019
A history of the use of fossil fuel by humans could start sometime around 3,000 years ago, a time when we know the Chinese at least were burning coal. Pirani eschews this deep history approach. His account deals with the period from 1950 onwards, when use of coal, oil and gas escalated to the point where what was consumed in half a century equalled and surpassed all consumption before that date.
What has been driving this increase? Neo-Malthusian commentators put it down to human population increase. Back in 1950 there were 3.5 billion people on the planet: the current number is double that. Isn’t that a sufficient explanation for the huge increase in the use of fossil fuels?
Pirani points out that it is more complicated than that. The use of fossil fuels to generate electricity and drive vehicles has increased most rapidly in the developed countries of the OECD, where population increase has been modest or even flat-lining. Among the nations of the global south wood remains the most widely used fuel to generate heat to warm rooms and cook.
He also asks us to think more critically about the often-quoted examples of industrial development in China, India, and the ‘tiger’ economies of the Pacific east. Much of the growth of output in these countries has serviced the needs consumers in the Global North rather than their own citizens.
Researchers into the greenhouse gas effect of fossil fuel consumption now use consumption rather than production-based accounting, meaning that the energy cost of a mobile phone owned by a person in Britain but manufactured in China figures on the British side of the balance sheet rather than the Chinese.
For Pirani the key point is that fossil fuels are consumed “by and through technological, social and economic systems…”. Even if population is to figure as a factor explaining what has been going on since 1950 we still have to understand that this is an impact that is heavily mediated through these systems.
This history of fossil fuel consumption really has to be understood as a history of the way energy has come to be produced in societies and economies that function as a part of a globalised capitalist economy. Human beings once produced the energy they needed by drawing on resources available in the immediate locality. Once this had meant wood gathered from local forests, peat from adjacent moorlands, the power of harnessed animals, and the kinetic energy of wind and water. In time this was replaced in countries which had undergone industrialisation by electrical power, but even here its generation was through power stations which serviced the towns and region where they were located.
This began to change after 1950 when power was distributed through networks – national grids – which increased the degree of separation of producers from consumers. This shift was allowed electricity to take the form of a commodity, traded on the basis of the profits it could make through exchanges in energy markets, rather than its immediate use to the people who needed it to power workplaces, heat and light homes, etc.
The opportunity to make a profit out of supplying energy encouraged private investors to step in to finance increases in capacity, which produced a price structure favourable to businesses that wanted to consume power on a large-scale. The scale of the investment required to generate electricity for these needs required state subsidy which maintained an affordable unit cost for the purchaser and an acceptable rate of return on investment for the capitalist. These relationships, between producers for networks, consumers drawing on power from national grids, and governments pump in money to keep the whole system running, all depended on the essential premise that the fuel needed to generate all this power would remain cheap and abundant.
The exploitation of oil for petroleum-based energy needs is essentially the same story of the radical severance of producers from consumers. Pirani takes from this the cue for a radically difference energy policy, which requires this rift to be overcome and the power needed for human communities to be generated on locally-available wind, hydro and biomas.
What has been driving this increase? Neo-Malthusian commentators put it down to human population increase. Back in 1950 there were 3.5 billion people on the planet: the current number is double that. Isn’t that a sufficient explanation for the huge increase in the use of fossil fuels?
Pirani points out that it is more complicated than that. The use of fossil fuels to generate electricity and drive vehicles has increased most rapidly in the developed countries of the OECD, where population increase has been modest or even flat-lining. Among the nations of the global south wood remains the most widely used fuel to generate heat to warm rooms and cook.
He also asks us to think more critically about the often-quoted examples of industrial development in China, India, and the ‘tiger’ economies of the Pacific east. Much of the growth of output in these countries has serviced the needs consumers in the Global North rather than their own citizens.
Researchers into the greenhouse gas effect of fossil fuel consumption now use consumption rather than production-based accounting, meaning that the energy cost of a mobile phone owned by a person in Britain but manufactured in China figures on the British side of the balance sheet rather than the Chinese.
For Pirani the key point is that fossil fuels are consumed “by and through technological, social and economic systems…”. Even if population is to figure as a factor explaining what has been going on since 1950 we still have to understand that this is an impact that is heavily mediated through these systems.
This history of fossil fuel consumption really has to be understood as a history of the way energy has come to be produced in societies and economies that function as a part of a globalised capitalist economy. Human beings once produced the energy they needed by drawing on resources available in the immediate locality. Once this had meant wood gathered from local forests, peat from adjacent moorlands, the power of harnessed animals, and the kinetic energy of wind and water. In time this was replaced in countries which had undergone industrialisation by electrical power, but even here its generation was through power stations which serviced the towns and region where they were located.
This began to change after 1950 when power was distributed through networks – national grids – which increased the degree of separation of producers from consumers. This shift was allowed electricity to take the form of a commodity, traded on the basis of the profits it could make through exchanges in energy markets, rather than its immediate use to the people who needed it to power workplaces, heat and light homes, etc.
The opportunity to make a profit out of supplying energy encouraged private investors to step in to finance increases in capacity, which produced a price structure favourable to businesses that wanted to consume power on a large-scale. The scale of the investment required to generate electricity for these needs required state subsidy which maintained an affordable unit cost for the purchaser and an acceptable rate of return on investment for the capitalist. These relationships, between producers for networks, consumers drawing on power from national grids, and governments pump in money to keep the whole system running, all depended on the essential premise that the fuel needed to generate all this power would remain cheap and abundant.
The exploitation of oil for petroleum-based energy needs is essentially the same story of the radical severance of producers from consumers. Pirani takes from this the cue for a radically difference energy policy, which requires this rift to be overcome and the power needed for human communities to be generated on locally-available wind, hydro and biomas.
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October 23, 2018This book couldn't be more urgently needed, given the latest bulletin from the IPCC. It gives you a ton of vital information, yet in wonderfully lucid, readable form, on why and how fossil fuel use escalated so dramatically after climate change became a widely recognised threat (recognised, at least, by the man, woman and child in the street if not by Decision Makers). Pirani likens our present condition to the "drift to war" in 1914, when everyone could see what was coming and why; but those who, supposedly, had the power to break the spell seemed the least capable of doing so.
What becomes very clear, very early on in the book, is a.) that governments aren't anywhere near up to dealing with this long-heralded disaster (but they can certainly compound it: handing power to the likes of Ronald Reagan or Margaret Thatcher was a deadly error with geological consequences, let alone atmospheric ones); so popular movements and mobilisations must rise to the task ; b.) that personal or household consumption isn´t a very big part of the problem (so turning the radiator down won't achieve much; much personal consumption is non-optional anyway in current society) and that c.) the possibilities for a fully sustainable and, yes, an advanced and enjoyable society, already exist aplenty - and the solution is not some wonderful new technological fix but a re-calibration of our social priorities, putting technology at the service of equality and human well-being.
What becomes very clear, very early on in the book, is a.) that governments aren't anywhere near up to dealing with this long-heralded disaster (but they can certainly compound it: handing power to the likes of Ronald Reagan or Margaret Thatcher was a deadly error with geological consequences, let alone atmospheric ones); so popular movements and mobilisations must rise to the task ; b.) that personal or household consumption isn´t a very big part of the problem (so turning the radiator down won't achieve much; much personal consumption is non-optional anyway in current society) and that c.) the possibilities for a fully sustainable and, yes, an advanced and enjoyable society, already exist aplenty - and the solution is not some wonderful new technological fix but a re-calibration of our social priorities, putting technology at the service of equality and human well-being.
May 22, 2022
Pirani presents an overview of global fossil fuel consumption mostly since 1950 to the present day. He truly takes a global approach: Instead of focusing just on the West, he also explores fossil fuel consumption in developing countries and considers a few of their case studies. There are several patterns that Pirani outlines in his historical overview. For instance, when it comes to the fossil fuel industry, he shows how liberalization has led to harmful results and stresses the need for regulation. Moreover, he emphasizes that fossil fuel consumption, with industry being the main contributor, has been causing global warming and that the current efforts at curtailing its effects are insufficient (e.g., 2015 Paris agreement).
The book is a great resource for learning about how and why fossil fuel consumption has changed over the last half-century or so. It does not delve into the specifics of how coal, gas, and oil are extracted or how things like electricity are generated from them; it instead focuses on the bigger trends. The book is replete with data, statistics, and charts. This is great, but there are so many statistics inserted in the main body of the text as well that it reduces readability. Although Pirani presents a chronological overview, I think he could have worked more on creating a narrative so that the book does not come across as merely a reference guide. That said, I appreciate the urgency that Pirani ascribes to the global warming challenge.
The book is a great resource for learning about how and why fossil fuel consumption has changed over the last half-century or so. It does not delve into the specifics of how coal, gas, and oil are extracted or how things like electricity are generated from them; it instead focuses on the bigger trends. The book is replete with data, statistics, and charts. This is great, but there are so many statistics inserted in the main body of the text as well that it reduces readability. Although Pirani presents a chronological overview, I think he could have worked more on creating a narrative so that the book does not come across as merely a reference guide. That said, I appreciate the urgency that Pirani ascribes to the global warming challenge.
April 15, 2019
The fuel for the industrial revolution was the human brain. For a Marxist, that is irrelevant. The only things that matter is the muscle and the fist. It is not Watt who designed the engine, it is the proletarian who hits the nail with the hammer. And Pirani is trying with this book to bring back in sync the class warfare and the care for Mother Earth.
June 19, 2019
I came across Simon Pirani's book on recommendation of an economics professor in research for my dissertation into motor vehicle dependence in economic development. It's both a really engaging read and a priceless resource for my scholarship - warmly recommended for scholarship and pleasure reading both!
July 21, 2020
Meticulously researched and vast in scope, Burning Up argues that our fossil fuel use is far more than just the sum of population growth and individual consumption. See my full review at https://inquisitivebiologist.com/2018...
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March 23, 2025Dense analysis of the industry and its institutions with abundant statistical evidence. A good one to keep on hand for reference in one's own writing on fossil fuel profiteering, ecocide, and any related topics of concern. Good to have as reference for the topic, politically & scientifically.
November 7, 2018
Excellent, thoroughly researched, highly readable and informative. A much needed focus on fossil fuels as consumed by systems embedded and produced in socio-economic conditions, rather than individuals.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews