1st Edition

A History of Energy in Mexico From Cornfields to Solar Farms

By Philip L. Russell Copyright 2026
150 Pages 36 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

150 Pages 36 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

150 Pages 36 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

This volume synthesizes energy history in Mexico from pre-Conquest times to the present. It traces human development from a low-energy, sustainable existence to fossil fuel-based non-sustainability. The book familiarizes readers with different energy sources, what the advantages and disadvantages of each source are, and how the importance of each energy source has changed over time. From early... Read more

Introduction  1. Food and Firewood, 10,000 B.C.–1521 A.D  2. The Spanish Colony, 1521–1821  3. Independence  4. The Technical Watershed, 1876–1911  5. The Oil Boom, 1911–1921  6. After the Oil Boom, 1922–1940  7. The Mexican Miracle, 1941–1970  8. The Second Oil Boom, 1971–2004  9. Reform and Counter-Reform, 2004–2024  10. Mexico and Climate Change

Biography

Philip L. Russell is an independent historian based in the United States. He is Editor of the Mexico Energy News and has written eight books, six of which are about Mexico. He has also written on Mexico in publications ranging from Mexico City’s La Jornada to the New York Times. He was an interpreter for the National Science Foundation's effort to locate monarch butterfly overwintering sites and has led a Sierra Club trip and mountain bike tours to Mexico. Russell twice served as an official Mexican presidential election observer.