The first five chapters focused mostly on economics, that is, the procedures by which we study our economies. It included reviews of the main ways we use today and in the past, and critiques of the dominant forms today. It offered an alternative perspective based on including natural as well as social sciences in the consideration of economics. The next three chapters focus more on the economies themselves, including their historical and biophysical basis. We believe that these reviews reinforce the virtues of using a biophysical approach to understanding real economies.
Contents
Chapter 6 The Evolution of Humans and Their Economies – 123
Chapter 7 Energy, Wealth, and the American Dream – 151
Chapter 8 The Petroleum Revolution and the First Half of the Age of Oil – 183