On April 20, 2010, a blast aboard the Deepwater Horizon offshore oil platform killed 11 workers, critically injured others and caused a leak that spilled thousands of barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico for more than three months. The Deepwater Horizon, one of worst environmental disasters in history, is now the subject of a pulse-pounding new movie. Historian and archaeologist, USU Professor of Environment and Society, Joseph Tainter will watch the film with special interest. He is author, with Tadeusz “Tad” Patzek of University of Texas-Austin, of “Drilling Down: The Gulf Oil Debacle and Our Energy Dilemma.” Tainter, also author of the influential book “The Collapse of Complex Societies,” says “It takes energy to find and produce energy and the world’s remaining, untapped petroleum reserves are in deep, dark, cold, remote and dangerous locations...Energy is becoming very costly in terms of resources, safety and environmental health.”
We’ll talk about Deepwater Horizon, oil and natural gas, alternative energy, and the collapse of complex societies with Joseph Tainter.
Joseph Tainter received his Ph.D. in Anthropology from Northwestern University in 1975. He has taught at the University of New Mexico and Arizona State University, and until 2005 directed the Cultural Heritage Research Project in the Rocky Mountain Research Station. He has been a professor in ENVS since 2007, serving as Department Head from 2007 to 2009. His study of why societies collapse led to research on sustainability, with emphases on energy and innovation. He has also conducted research on land-use conflict and human responses to climate change. Dr. Tainter has appeared in documentary films and television programs, in print media, and in radio programs. He appeared in the film The 11th Hour, produced by Leonardo diCaprio.
