Product Description

The 20th century saw unprecedented growth in population, food production and energy consumption. As the population shifted from rural areas to urban cities, the human impact on the environment increased dramatically. The 21st century has ushered in an era of decline in a number of crucial areas: global oil, natural gas and coal extraction; minerals and ores, such as copper and platinum; economic growth; yearly grain harvests; fresh water; climate stability; and, population. To adapt to this profoundly different world, we must now begin to make radical changes to our attitudes, behaviours and expectations."Peak Everything" addresses many of the cultural, psychological and practical changes we will need to make as nature rapidly dictates our new limits. This latest book from Richard Heinberg, author of three acclaimed books on Peak Oil, touches on the most important aspects affecting humanity at this momentous time. A combination of wry commentary and sober forecasting on subjects as diverse as farming and industrial design, "Peak Everything" indicates how we might make the transition from the Age of Excess to the Era of Modesty with grace and satisfaction, while preserving the best of our collective achievements. A must-read for individuals, business leaders and policy makers who are serious about effecting real change.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #92121 in Books
• Published on: 2007-11-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

About the Author
RICHARD HEINBERG is widely regarded as one of the world's foremost Peak Oil educators. A journalist and musician, he has lectured widely, appearing on national radio and television in various countries. He is a member of the core faculty at New College of California and Research Fellow of the Post Carbon Institute. His monthly Museletter has been in publication since 1992, and he is an award-winning author of seven books. Richard lives with his wife in a suburban home they have renovated for energy efficiency, where they grow much of their own food.

Customer Reviews

Not at all what I expected
With the title, "Peak Everything", I had imagined this book would provide some detail along the lines of the "Earth's Natural Wealth - An Audit" article in New Scientist issue #2605 ("World Stripped Bare") along with some analysis on the consequential impacts on efforts to mitigate the combined effects of fossil fuel depletion and Climate Change. I really looked forward to its release. Surely it is reasonable to expect such content according to the given title? Alas, no such luck.

Instead, what's provided is a series of musings that Heinberg has written during his Peak Oil Campaign touring. As always, his writing is lucid and most of the metaphors presented are simultaneously interesting yet useless for depletionists (e.g. the commonalities between human and parrot societies). I couldn't help but feel as though Heinberg has decided that, due to (unspecified) limits of availability of precious metals, that the only realistic future is a return to old-school agriculture and that all modern technology and knowledge will disappear. Unlike "The Party's Over", which I couldn't put down, I really had to persist with this book. The introduction, as well as some of the content towards the end of the book is of some use, but I still can't help feeling disappointed with it.

Much as I would like to, I really can't think of anyone whom I'd recommend this book. I would still direct novice depletionists towards "The Party's Over", experienced depletionists will already be familiar with most of the blog discussions from which a fair degree of this book has been stimulated ("The Oil Drum" / "Transition Culture" etc).

I would really like to see Richard Heinberg get away from the bloggers and once again delve into some new information and statistics that will be useful to depletionists. Perhaps release a 3rd edition of "The Party's Over", including a section on real, quantitative limits of various materials. He is in danger of disappearing up his own backside with his persistent over-analysis of old material. Heinberg is ruminating into diminishing-returns.

A diverse, esoteric collection of ideas
Richard Heinberg is best known for his work on peak oil. 'Peak Everything' is a little broader in scope, a series of essays based around the idea of a century of decline and the need for a global downsize. Some essays you'll find useful, others not, which why I give it three stars.

"Our starting point," writes Heinberg, "is the realization that we are today living at the end of the period of greatest material abundance in human history - an abundance based on temporary sources of cheap energy that made all else possible." Having dealt with the depletion and its solutions elsewhere, Heinberg writes more about life after the peak here, the nature of the transition - what kind of culture will emerge, how will we cope?

Some of the essays here are very speculative, interesting asides that clearly didn't fit into other books. There's a chapter on the possible aesthetics of post-industrial design for example, or the psychology of language, some musings on popular culture.

Less esoterically, there's a useful chapter on farming, as "re-ruralization will be a dominant social trend of the 21st century." He also addresses population, expounds five `axioms of sustainability', reflects on the legacy of the `boomer' generation, and helpfully maps some of the intersections of climate change and peak oil campaigning.

Those wanting more on peak oil are better off with previous books, and there's no detail on the `peak everything' hinted at in the title. It is nevertheless a thoughtful and diverse set of ideas from one of the sharpest minds working on resource depletion.

Brilliant and incisive
Heinberg is the foremost expert of 'peak oil' - the idea that we are more than half way through the world's oil reserves. Here he presents various angles on the problem: everything from how the industrial age influenced design to, yes, parrots. But, unlike the above reviewer, I found it all relevant. Heinberg has a clear mind, and his broad-ranging thoughts are here applied to a wide range of related issues to 'peak oil'. A good read!