Oil

The lifeblood of the Old World, oil is a substance which was obtained through various means such as digging or drilling, and combusted for energy. A subset of petroleum compounds and fossil fuels, oil is now very scarce following the depletion of most reserves centuries ago.

Properties

Material Characteristics

In its raw state (dubbed "crude" oil by the ancients), petroleum is a dark, tarry liquid commonly found either by itself or bound up in other forms such as shales or sands. It is flammable and toxic, creating ecological hazards if spilled, and its combustion releases carbon dioxide.

Origin & Source

Oil forms from the remains of ancient life-forms, such as algae, which are buried underground and converted into petroleum compounds through heat and pressure until, after geological timescales, it reaches a state where it can be mined. Because its source was living things which ultimately got their energy from the sun, oil can be thought of as a planetary "savings account" of solar energy--one which could either be spent quickly in a blaze of glory, or slowly to provide benefits where it was most needed.

History & Usage

History

Petroleum was known from ancient history, but with the advent of industrialization it began to be mined in large quantities since it represented a cheap, portable source of high-density energy. Oil, and other fossil fuels, were the foundation of the Old World and much of what it percieved as good and valuable. Without it, the staggering consumption levels and growth speed seen in the Age of Prosperity likely could not have happened.

In the present, what little oil remains is mostly found on Antarctica. Virtually all easy reserves were depleted to fuel the ancient folly of infinite growth, and the Antarcticans are loath to repeat the same mistake. The societies of Middle America, Canada, and other locations must instead make do as if it had never existed, with other energy sources as they try to preserve what bits of oil-created Old World wealth are worth preserving.

Cultural Significance and Usage

To the Old World, oil was wealth. It powered their jet airplanes, lit their cities, fueled their cars. Its primary advantage lay in its nature--hundreds of millions of years of solar energy concentrated into a convienient, non-corrosive liquid easily refined into all manner of convienient fuels and chemical compounds. Without oil, the Old World would have been forced into the state of the present day: stuck with capturing and converting sunlight into energy through various intermediate forms, such as photopanels, wood, or wind turbines, in energy-limited societies.

Growing addicted to oil, in a sense, the Old World could not turn to a more sustainable path without changing the very foundations of its economy and society, something which the elite powers of the time would never have tolerated. Thus, the depletion of oil heralded the end of the ancient growth economy and the emergence of the new Anthropocene world, in which oil is remembered as something useful but also quite dangerous. Oil is arguably just as crucial for these societies, though in the opposite sense--as a symbol of ancient greed and folly.

Environmental Impact

Oil combustion was a primary driver of carbon dioxide emissions during the Old World, this kicked off a cycle of planetary heating which raised the temperature to the point where human civilization and most of Earth's pre-industrial ecology, unable to adapt, experienced a catastrophic collapse.

Type

Organic