2-5-08, 1:00 am

by Dilip Hiro Politico's Publishing.




The eternal flames that erupt from the rocks in the Caspian region give an eerie backdrop to Dilip Hiro's book on oil.

He successfully provides a synthesis of the political, historical, economic and scientific aspects of this natural commodity, tying in evocative images with hard-hitting statistical analysis.

This blend of styles helps to illustrate to the non-specialist reader the depth of the impending oil crisis and outlines the processes that led to it. His well-measured account of the development of the major oil companies and OPEC is particularly useful for understanding the geopolitics of oil today.

Hiro provides a detailed account of the intimate link between petroleum use and economic development. He charts the oil dependency not only of the US and Europe but also of China and India. This gives a broad understanding of the pressures that other countries face as they confront the effects of climate change and an impending shortage of oil.

The struggles of India to maintain GDP growth while implementing alternative sources of renewable energy are impressive. Focusing on Indian and Chinese attempts to reduce their environmental impact highlights the derisory attempts that the Bush administration have employed to cut US reliance on oil.

In the face of a world addicted to oil, with governments and multinational corporations playing diplomatic games and starting wars over the ever-decreasing resource, what is the ordinary citizen to do?

While alternative sources of power are discussed at a national level, this book ignores the impact of the individual.

I certainly felt that, in the face of such international forces moving inextricably towards catastrophe, all that I could do was turn off my energy-saving light bulb and wait for the impending doom.

From Morning Star