Blowout
By Rachel Maddow
Random House
Netgalley
If you are like me you never thought about the gas/oil industry. The only time I have a connection with gas is pumping gas into my car. I never give it another thought. It's a shame because we should think about the oil/gas companies' accountability and corruption that goes on here in the United States, but also abroad(Russia).
I have been anticipating the book, Blowout by Rachel for months since I heard about it. The book is timely after we learned what is going on between the US President, and the Ukraine phone call. Rachel explains Russia is a poor country. Who is Putin? How did he get into power? It doesn't make any sense if their economy is rich in oil. Why is it not trickling down to the citizens of Russia? What is the oil and gas industry connection with Russia? Why is Russia attacking Ukraine? US elections? What is with the oligarchs? What is the connection between oil, and gas, and Russia? Why are the big oil companies so interested in Russia? It's the oil in the Kara Sea. Russia thinks it needs the oil companies to extract the oil out. Do they really need them as much as they think? How is Ukraine connected to all this? What do SANCTIONS in the EU, have anything to do with it? What does it have to do with the US? And US elections? These are the questions, and answered in Blowout.
PLENTY! Because Russia relies on other countries for their goods. If they are sanctioned other countries can't work with them. Russia is hoping to convince Trump to lift sanctions. That is the bottom line. Putin didn't realize interfering in our elections would work so well. It did better than expected. One thing I will say, I thought it was suspicious that every link to Trump had a finger from Russia. Was that coincidence? Flynn, Manafort, Page, and the list goes on, and on...It was also strange that Stein, an independent presidential candidate was in Russia.
The book is not so much about Exxon Mobil and Rex Tillerson who just so happened to be appointed by President Trump as our Secretary of State. But the corruption that goes along with the connections of the countries and big gas corporations. What happens to certain countries when they deal with one economy, gas. The countries that only rely on gas to make money always end up corrupt. That is what happened to Russia, and Saudia Arabia, for example.
It also opened up my eyes from years ago when I was a kid. At the time most of what the gas/ oil companies didn't affect me because I was a young kid. Well, I was wrong. It knows has bitten me in the butt. It has come back to haunt me, and the rest of the world( climate change). We can blame our parents, and the government then. But, blaming doesn't do much, action will. We had warnings by scientists reporting that the techniques pulling oil and gas out of the ground were not a good idea. But, because there wasn't enough outcry. The companies still extracted the oil. There is so much information in the book it overwhelms you at times. I just brushed on a few.
The best part of the book is what happened to the state of Oklahoma and the gas industry. Oklahoma was allowing the gas industry to extract oil out of the ground. The process of taking the oil out was causing not just a few earthquakes, but many for a few years. There was one certain scientist that was warning the state. Finally, the state had enough, they did something about it. They made the gas companies accountable.
As most of us who watch Rachel on her show, The Rachel Maddow Show. She is a storyteller and likes to mix humor into her storytelling. She likes to tell us about history, and the background info. before she talks about a certain topic. You can tell Rachel did her homework and research. I don't know how she did with her day job. I hope you will pick up the book. I will say you can't read the book at only a few sittings For me it was overwhelming and easier for me to read only a few chapters at a time instead of big chunks.
Thank you, Rachel, for opening my eyes. Thank you, Random House, and Netgalley for allowing me to review.
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