Good documentary about oil coming up on History Channel tonight.

By: ericy
Published On: 1/27/2008 1:19:02 PM

The documentary is called "Crude - the incredible journey of oil", and was originally broadcast on Australian TV last year, and has also appeared at film festivals around the country.

http://www.history.com/shows.d...

http://www.abc.net.au/science/...

Tonight at 8PM EST (2-hour show).

From the food on our tables to the fuel in our cars, crude oil seeps invisibly into almost every part of our modern lives. It is the energy source and raw material that drives transport and the economy. Yet many of us have little idea of the incredible journey it has made to reach our petrol tanks and plastic bags.

Coming in the wake of rising global concerns about the continued supply of oil, and increasingly weird weather patterns, award-winning Australian filmmaker, Dr Richard Smith takes us through time: from the birth of oil deep in the dinosaur-inhabited past, to its ascendancy as the indispensable ingredient of modern life. Filmed on location in 11 countries across five continents, Smith consults the leading international scientific experts to join the dots between geology and economy and provide the big-picture view of oil.


Why is this important?  Our entire society and our economy is built around having abundant cheap energy.  But the indications are that this era will end within our lifetimes, and this will have profound implications for all of us.

Part of what makes this documentary fascinating is that they cover the path of a single carbon atom starting in the Jurassic period.  They discuss the conditions that were required for oil bearing rocks to be formed, and with climate change we may be inadvertently returning the planet to something like the climate in the Jurassic era.

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