"Since 1859, oil has enabled and defined our economic, social and political landscape. Throughout this time, abundant supply ensured low, stable prices and the inner workings of the oil industry remained relatively obscure. Following a century and a half of relative calm, oil prices have become much more volatile as the sustainability and growth of reliable supply sources have been brought into question. This book provides a guide to oil; from its history, to sources of supply and drivers of demand; from how prices are determined daily in global wholesale oil markets, to how those markets are connected to prices at the pump." -- Book jacket.

World acclaimed scientist Vaclav Smil reveals everything there is to know about nature's most sought-after resource Oil is the lifeblood of the modern world. Without it, there would be no planes, no plastic, no exotic produce, and a global political landscape few would recognise. Humanity’s dependence upon oil looks set to continue for decades to come, but what is it? Fully updated and packed with fascinating facts to fuel dinner party debate, Professor Vaclav Smil's Oil: A Beginner's Guide explains all matters related to the ‘black stuff’, from its discovery in the earth right through to the controversy that surrounds it today.

From clary sage and eucalyptus to lavender and ylang ylang, essential oils are safe, environmental alternatives to traditional medicine and home-care products. Inside, you'll find detailed profiles that include the source, history, properties, and uses for 100 of the most common and affordable essential oils. Essential oil expert Kymberly Keniston-Pond teaches you how to choose pure, high-quality oils; demonstrates the proper way to blend and store them; and provides suggestions for the simple tools youll need for working with essential oils.

Oil on the Brain is a smart, surprisingly funny account of the oil industry—the people, economies, and pipelines that bring us petroleum, brilliantly illuminating a world we encounter every day. Americans buy ten thousand gallons of gasoline a second, without giving it much of a thought. Where does all this gas come from? Lisa Margonelli’s desire to learn took her on a one-hundred thousand mile journey from her local gas station to oil fields half a world away. In search of the truth behind the myths, she wriggled her way into some of the most off-limits places on earth: the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the New York Mercantile Exchange’s crude oil market, oil fields from Venezuela, to Texas, to Chad, and even an Iranian oil platform where the United States fought a forgotten one-day battle. In a story by turns surreal and alarming, Margonelli meets lonely workers on a Texas drilling rig, an oil analyst who almost gave birth on the NYMEX trading floor, Chadian villagers who are said to wander the oil fields in the guise of lions, a Nigerian warlord who changed the world price of oil with a single cell phone call, and Shanghai bureaucrats who dream of creating a new Detroit. Deftly piecing together the mammoth economy of oil, Margonelli finds a series of stark warning signs for American drivers.

Born out of the popular blog Kale & Caramel, this sumptuously photographed and beautifully written cookbook presents eighty recipes for delicious vegan and vegetarian dishes featuring herbs and flowers, as well as luxurious do-it-yourself beauty products. Plant-whisperer, writer, and photographer Lily Diamond believes that herbs and flowers have the power to nourish inside and out. “Lily’s deep connection to nature is beautifully woven throughout this personal collection of recipes,” says award-winning vegetarian chef Amy Chaplin. Each chapter celebrates an aromatic herb or flower, including basil, cilantro, fennel, mint, oregano, rosemary, sage, thyme, lavender, jasmine, rose, and orange blossom. Mollie Katzen, author of the beloved Moosewood Cookbook, calls the book “a gift, articulated through a poetic voice, original and bold.” The recipes tell a coming-of-age story through Lily’s kinship with plants, from a sun-drenched Maui childhood to healing from heartbreak and her mother’s death. With bright flavors, gorgeous scents, evocative stories, and more than one hundred photographs, Kale & Caramel creates a lush garden of experience open to harvest year round.

Contains current clinical research into tea tree oil's effectiveness against conditions ranging from acne to candida.

“A stunning piece of work—perhaps the best single book ever produced about our energy economy and its environmental implications” (Bill McHibbon, The New York Review of Books). Petroleum is so deeply entrenched in our economy, politics, and daily lives that even modest efforts to phase it out are fought tooth and nail. Companies and governments depend on oil revenues. Developing nations see oil as their only means to industrial success. And the Western middle class refuses to modify its energy-dependent lifestyle. But even by conservative estimates, we will have burned through most of the world’s accessible oil within mere decades. What will we use in its place to maintain a global economy and political system that are entirely reliant on cheap, readily available energy? In The End of Oil, journalist Paul Roberts talks to both oil optimists and pessimists around the world. He delves deep into the economics and politics, considers the promises and pitfalls of oil alternatives, and shows that—even though the world energy system has begun its epochal transition—we need to take a more proactive stance to avoid catastrophic disruption and dislocation.

This new guide to oil and gas trading aims to fill a gap not currently supplied by other reference books on sale-of-goods law and charters by focusing on the day-to-day realities of trading in the sector. It examines the way in which the oil and gas market operates in practice, taking note of real-life situations that can arise.

A comprehensive guide to home preserving and canning in small batches provides seasonally arranged recipes for 100 jellies, spreads, salsas and more while explaining the benefits of minimizing dependence on processed, store-bought preserves.