Oil at 150: celebrating oil's birthday

August 27, 2009 by Alex Epstein

oil pic

Today, August 27, 2009, is the 150th anniversary of the birth of the oil industry. Exactly 150 years ago, “Colonel” Edwin Drake struck black gold with the first commercial oil well — giving birth to an industry that would provide the lifeblood for modern civilization.

Unfortunately, the anniversary of oil has received little attention. At ARC, we aim to change this with a new webpage dedicated to celebrating oil’s 150th birthday — and to shaping public debate about oil going forward. In our view, the widespread demonization of oil as an “addiction” or “pollutant” is a dangerous smear. Oil has sustained and enhanced billions of lives for more than 150 years by providing superior, affordable, ultra-convenient energy — and is as vital today as ever. It fuels our ultra-mobile, globalized world, and provides the building-blocks for millions of life-enhancing petroleum products.

In the coming days and weeks, ARC, on both our blog and our oil webpage, will highlight the incredible, neglected value of oil and explore oil’s role in foreign policy and environmental issues.

flickr/Fábio Pinheiro