Oil, powering the world

Have you been watching the documentary series on Oil on BBC? Available on iPlayer (only for those in the UK), the series follows the ups and downs of this industry which provides us with, amongst other things, yarns and textiles. 

Starting with the discovery of the resource which no-one knew what to do with, and ending with the meteroic rise in the consumption of oil, Professor Iain Stewart follows the trajectory of the energy source we all depend on. It is an amazing story and reminded me of how dependent we are on "black gold" for so many of our day to day products and materials.