Oil and Honey- Initial Impressions

I'm not sure how I feel about Oil and Honey by Bill McKibben so far. It reads quickly and has some interesting parts, but I feel like I'm just not into it. Even though he uses many metaphors to connect the bee parts to the fight against oil, I still feel like they are disjointed. In the middle of the fight against the Keystone pipeline he will randomly go back to talking about the bees. I'm not sure how they fit together in this book.

I'm also not sure of the point McKibben is trying to make with this book. Every book so far I have understood the thesis statement. The previous books have all had a intro/prologue that illustrated why the author was writing the book and the point that was supposed to come across. McKibben however does not have a intro/prologue and seems to immediately go into the story. I think this tactic was useful in the other books, which I didn't really appreciate until not having it in this book.

I have enjoyed learning some of the cool biology and behaviors of the bees. The idea that scouts go out to look for new areas for hives and then have a democratic discussion to chose a new location was fascinating. But I feel like this part of the story is detracting from the picture of fighting the oil companies. Again, maybe this will make more sense later in the book, but as of now I just don't get it.

There is a mixture of pessimism and optimism when thinking about fighting the oil companies. There seems to be some hope that a grassroots battle has stopped the pipeline. The oil companies just assumed they would win due to their political power and money, and yet the protests were able to stop them. However, it is said multiple times in the book, stopping one pipeline will not stop global warming. This is just one battle in a large war. In addition, the battle over this one pipeline has not ended. It seems doubtful that we can create the quick changes that are necessary to prevent the 4 degree increase.

The thing that struck me in the beginning of the book is how willing people were to go to jail to fight the pipeline. I'm not sure if I would be brave enough to do that. I tend to be a rule follower and although I like the tactics of civil disobedience used, I am not sure if I could do it. I really appreciated the peaceful nature of the protest, and the fact that they wore their Sunday best to show their civility. As McKibben has stated, they are not radical, but changing the composition of the atmosphere is very radical.