“The economic life of the human race had for some time been based on coal, but latterly oil had been found a far more convenient source of power; and as the oil store of the planet was much smaller than its coal store, and the expenditure of oil had of course been wholly uncontrolled and wasteful, a shortage was already being felt. Thus the national ownership of the remaining oil fields had become a main factor in politics and a fertile source of wars.”

— Olaf Stapledon, book Last and First Men

Source: Last and First Men (1930), Chapter I: Balkan Europe; Section 4, “The Russo-German War” (pp. 29-30)

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "The economic life of the human race had for some time been based on coal, but latterly oil had been found a far more co…" by Olaf Stapledon?

Olaf Stapledon113

British novelist and philosopher 1886–1950

Related quotes

“I said it to you once, had we taken the oil -- and we should have taken the oil -- ISIS would not have been able to form either, because the oil was their primary source of income. And now they have the oil all over the place, including the oil -- a lot of the oil in Libya, which was another one of her disasters.”

Donald J. Trump (1946) 45th President of the United States of America

2010s, 2016, September, First presidential debate (September 26, 2016)

“I wanted to build up Iran while we still had oil and thus to guarantee the life of the country after our oil reserves were exhausted. Therein lay the solution. We had to move fast, we had no time to spare. Finally, it is unquestionable that the oil lobby contributed actively to my downfall.”

Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (1919–1980) Shah of Iran

Page 201
Publications, The Shah's Story (1980), On himself

“I have some hopes for the future. One of the things I hope the new leader will address is an integrated energy policy, because we need to take advantage of the tremendous brainpower that we have amassed over the years relative to conventional and oil-sands oil and gas, and funnel those energies into alternate forms of energy for the future. By that I mean coal, coal gasification, coalbed methane, solar power, wind power, nuclear power, hydro power, all forms of energy other than conventional and oil-sands gas and oil.”

Ralph Klein (1942–2013) Canadian politician

Source: [Will The Real Alberta Please Stand Up, University of Alberta Press, 2010, 312, Geo Takach]

“The moral aspect of oil nationalization is more important than its economic aspect.”

Mohammad Mosaddegh (1882–1967) Prime Minister of Iran

“The truth is, about the Middle East is, had there been no oil there, it would be like Africa. Nobody is threatening to intervene in Africa.”

Wesley Clark (1944) American general and former Democratic Party presidential candidate

92nd Street Y Cultural Center (2007)

“Liquefied coal, gosh. Hitler during the Second World War — I guess because he was concerned about losing his oil — liquefied coal. That technology is still there.”

Mitt Romney (1947) American businessman and politician

[2007-04-20, Romney's Energy Gaffe, Ryan Sager, The New York Sun, http://www.nysun.com/national/romneys-energy-gaffe/52883/]
2007 campaign for Republican nomination for United States President

“We used [oil] […] as if there was no tomorrow. Now there may not be one. That's how special oil has been.”

James Howard Kunstler book The Long Emergency

Source: The Long Emergency (2005), Chapter 2, p. 31.

“Coal fires are a notorious risk for coalmines. In North America whole towns have had to be relocated because of fires that have been uncontrollable.”

Tim Flannery (1956) Australian scientist and global warming activist

6 March 2014 http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/06/tim-flannery-coal-communities-kept-darkː Vulnerable groups of people in South Morwell Australia were advised to temporarily relocate due to the danger of PM2.5 particles in 2014. <br class="br">Coal

“Japan must import all of its major minerals, from oil to aluminum. Without those imports-particularly oil-Japan stops being an industrial power in a matter of months.”

George Friedman (1949) American businessman and political scientist

Source: The Next 100 Years: A Forecast for the 21st Century (2009), p. 67

“This war has been motivated by pride or arrogance, by a desire to control oil wealth, by a desire to implant our programs.”

Jimmy Carter (1924) American politician, 39th president of the United States (in office from 1977 to 1981)

on the Diane Rehm Show.
Post-Presidency

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Olaf Stapledon113

Related quotes

Related topics