Sunday 12 July 2015

Global fossil fuel consumption, 1950 to the present: seven histories in one

I have just attended the World Society: Planetary Natures conference at Binghamton university in the USA. The theme was the "converging crises" of climate, energy and finance. The notes of my presentation, "Global fossil fuel consumption, 1950 to the present: seven histories in one", are downloadable here. There was a wide range of speakers, including journalists and social movement activists as well as university-based researchers. Among the latter were anthropologists, ethnographers and historians, and others too. Binghamton has always been something of a centre for "world system" historians, and some (although not all) of the attendees work in that tradition. It was a very welcome opportunity to meet and exchange views with other scholars. Conference web pages here.