Peak Oil: Apocalyptic Environmentalism and Libertarian Political Culture

278 Pages·2015·2.4 MB·English

by  Schneider-Mayerson

Peak Oil
Fossil of giant ground sloth (Eremotherium) at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. A
cheap, plentiful source of energy (calories) for the fi rst humans to arrive in North America
(approximately 15,500 years ago), the giant sloths were extinct within a century.
Peak Oil
Apocalyptic Environmentalism
and Libertarian Political Culture
MATTHEW SCHNEIDER-M AYERSON
The University of Chicago Press Chicago and London
MATTHEW SCHNEIDER-MAYERSON is assistant
professor of social sciences (environmental studies) at Yale-NUS
College, Singapore.
The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 60637
The University of Chicago Press, Ltd., London
© 2015 by The University of Chicago
All rights reserved. Published 2015.
Printed in the United States of America
24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 1 2 3 4 5
ISBN-1 3: 978- 0-2 26- 28526-9 (cloth)
ISBN-1 3: 978- 0-2 26- 28543- 6 (paper)
ISBN-1 3: 978- 0-2 26- 28557- 3 (e-b ook)
DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226285573.001.0001
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Schneider-Mayerson, Matthew, author.
Peak Oil : apocalyptic environmentalism and libertarian political
culture / Matthew Schneider-Mayerson.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISB N 978-0-226-28526-9 (hardcover : alk. paper) —
ISBN 978-0-226-28543-6 (pbk. : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-226-
28557-3 (e-book) 1. Hubbert peak theory—Political aspects.
2. Hubbert peak theory—Social aspects. 3. Environmentalism.
4. Petroleum industry and trade—Industrial capacity—Forecasting.
I. Title.
HD9560.5.S345 2015
333.8′232—dc23
2014044790
Portions of chapter 4 were published as “From Politics to Prophecy:
Environmental Quiescence and the ‘Peak-Oil’ Movement”
(Environmental Politics 22.5 [2013]: 866–81) and “Disaster Movies
and the ‘Peak Oil’ Movement: Does Popular Culture Encourage
Eco-Apocolyptic Beliefs in the United States?” (Journal for the Study of
Religion, Nature, and Culture 7.3 [2013]: 289–314).
This paper meets the requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39.48- 1992
(Permanence of Paper).
If a sudden vast mass movement could be stamped out of the ground, if thou-
sands could be shaken out of the lethargy and defeatism of centuries by a single
speech, how could men doubt that great and world- overturning events would
soon come to pass? ERIC HOBSBAWM, PRIMITIVE REBELS (1965)
While analysts differ on the details, virtually all agree that the people of Western
civilization knew what was happening to them but were unable to stop it. In-
deed, the most startling aspect of this story is just how much these people knew,
yet how little they acted upon what they knew. NAOMI ORESKES AND ERIK M.
CONWAY, “THE COLLAPSE OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION” (2013)

Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction: Oil and (Anti-) Politics 1
1 The Peak Oil Ideology and Subculture 17
2 Abundance, Scarcity, and Limits in the Age of Oil 47
3 Alone Together: The Libertarian Shift and the
Network Effect 77
4 Apocalyptic Popular Culture and Political Quiescence 103
5 White Masculinity and Post- Apocalyptic Retrosexuality 129
Conclusion: Climate Change and the Big Picture 150
Appendix 1: Survey Data 165
Appendix 2: Questionnaire, July 2013 171
Notes 173 Bibliography 227 Index 259

Acknowledgments
For all their differences, petroleum and libertarian politi-
cal cultures share a remarkable tendency to break down
the bonds that constitute the social and political body.
This book, the product of countless conversations with
colleagues, friends, and peakists who were extremely gen-
erous with their time, was written against that attrition. It
would not exist without them.
Many thanks, fi rst and foremost, to Elaine Tyler May
and Lary May, whose consistent support, insight, and
warmth was invaluable; to Daniel J. Philippon, who pro-
vided generous, thoughtful, and detailed feedback and ad-
vice on this and other projects; to David N. Pellow, who al-
ways provokes me to consider new angles; and to Kevin P.
Murphy, a model of critical inquiry and kindness. Thanks
to the University of Minnesota for its fi nancial support.
Thanks to my colleagues in the Department of American
Studies, who patiently listened to and commented on dif-
ferent iterations of this project over the years, especially
Melissa Williams, Susie Hatmaker, Danny LaChance, Ryan
Murphy, Aaron Eddens, and above all Benjamin Wiggins.
Thanks to those who provided advice and support beyond
the University of Minnesota, especially David Kinkela,
Linda Gordon, Joni Adamson, and Martha Minow.
It would have been impossible to complete this book
as quickly as I did without the support of the Center for
Energy and Environmental Research in the Human Sci-
ences (CENHS) at Rice University. CENHS and Houston
were the perfect institutional and geographic locations
to complete a book about energy, culture, and politics.
ix