American Empire and the Canadian Oil Sands

This book shows that the unconventional fossil fuels revolution taking place in North America must be understood in light of the great power status of the US.  Gonzalez argues that the development of the Canadian oil sands would enhance the political position of the US on the world stage-both by powering its domestic economy and giving the US a potentially important asset, as conventional fossil fuels are declining.  While the unconventional fossil fuels revolution in North America has obvious geopolitical implications, it also holds tremendous potential for causing environmental damage-both in terms of global warming and the local and regional damage created by extracting Canadian oil sands and natural gas and oil from shale.

George A. Gonzalez is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Miami, USA.  He is author of Urban Sprawl, Global Warming, and the Empire of Capital (2009), Energy and Empire: The Politics of Nuclear and Solar Power in the United States (2012), Energy and the Politics of the North Atlantic (2013) and The Politics of Star Trek: Justice, War, and the Future (2015).