Life Without Oil: Why We Must Shift to a New Energy FutureBy the end of the 21st century, our oil and natural gas supplies will be virtually nonexistent, and limited coal supplies will be restricted to only a handful of countries. The authors - an environmental scientist and veteran journalist - make abundantly clear that we must plan for a future without reliance on oil. They make a compelling case that the key determinant of our global economy is not so much the invisible hand of the marketplace but the inexorable laws of ecology. Although the coming decades will be a time of much disruption and change of lifestyle, in the end we may learn a wiser, more sustainable stewardship of our natural resources. This timely, sobering, yet constructive discussion of energy and ecology offers a realistic vision of the near future and many important lessons about the limits of our resources. |
Contents
Prologue The Invisible Hand | |
A BRIEF HISTORY OF PROGRESS | |
THE PETROLEUM INTERVAL | |
The Ecological Debt The Global Commons | |
The View from Mauna | |
The Fossil Fuels Savings Bank | |
THE WEALTHOF NATIONS | |
Around theWorld in Eighty Depressions | |
A New Foundation | |
Reconnecting | |
Common terms and phrases
agriculture American andit andthe andthen asthe atmosphere atthe become biggest biofuels butthe bythe canbe carbon dioxide cars cellulosic ethanol century China civilization climate change coal collapse communities consumed Copán countries decades decline degraded depleted disastrous Easter Island ecological debt economic ecosystems efficient electricity emissions Empire environment environmental ethanol Europe farm fertilizer forest fossil fuels fromthe gasoline global climate global economy global warming greenhouse Haber process hasbeen Hisatsinom Hubbert huge humans hundred hydrogen hydrogen economy impacts important increase increasingly Industrial Revolution inthe isthe itwill land major million Moai muchmore nations natural gas nuclear power oceans ofenergy ofoil ofthe onthe overpopulation peak peak oil petroleum interval plants pollution population predict problems production reserves Roman Russia significant society supply sustainable temperature thatthe theladder themost theoil thereis theUnited theworld theyare thousand tobe tothe turbines UnitedStates wecan wehave willbe