1st Edition

Activism and the Fossil Fuel Industry

By Andrew Cheon, Johannes Urpelainen Copyright 2018
    254 Pages
    by Routledge

    254 Pages
    by Routledge

    In less than a decade, activism against the fossil fuel industry has exploded across the globe. While environmentalists used to focus on legislative goals, such as carbon emissions trading or renewable energy policies, today the most prominent activists directly attack the fossil fuel industry. This timely book offers a comprehensive evaluation of different types of activism, the success and impact of campaigns and activities, and suggestions as to ways forward. 

    This book is the first systematic treatment of the anti-fossil fuel movement in the United States. An accessible and readable text, it is an essential reference for scholars, policymakers, activists, and citizens interested in climate change, fossil fuels, and environmental sustainability.

    The entire book or chapters from it can be used as required or supplementary material in various courses at the undergraduate and graduate level. As the book is not technically challenging but contains a comprehensive review of climate change, fossil fuels, and the literature on environmental activism, it can be used as an accessible introduction to the anti-fossil fuel campaign across disciplines.

    Chapter 1: Introduction

    Chapter 2: Fossil Fuels in the World Economy

    Chapter 3: Why Resist Fossil Fuels?

    Chapter 4: Keystone XL

    Chapter 5: The Divest Movement

    Chapter 6: The Campaign against Coal in the United States

    Chapter 7: Mobilizing Against Fracking

    Chapter 8: Campaigns Against Fossil Fuels: A Global View

    Chapter 9: Conclusion

    Biography

    Andrew Cheon is Assistant Professor of International Political Economy at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, USA.

    Johannes Urpelainen is Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Professor of Energy, Resources and Environment at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, USA.

    "Even as observers lament the absence of a grass-roots movement to combat climate change, a more amorphous anti-fossil fuel movement has mushroomed in recent years. For anyone interested in understanding the rise, evolution and surprising success of that movement, this is the book for you."

    Doug McAdam, Ray Lyman Wilbur Professor of Sociology, Stanford University, USA

    "Cheon and Urpelainen have written an important book about the growing movement against the fossil fuel industry.  They not only provide a timely analysis about efforts to date, but offer a balanced assessment of activists' successes.  Activism and the Fossil Fuel Industry will be of great interest to students, activists and others wishing to learn more about how we can move toward a post-carbon world."

    Jessica Green, Assistant Professor, Environmental Studies, New York University, USA