A
aboriginal peoples, 113
adaptation, 163–170
adoption of new ideas, 43–44
advertising and consumerism, 57–64
Agricultural Revolution, 173–174
agriculture
effect of fossil fuels, 179
effect of globalization, 135–136
effect on environment, 108
as energy source, 20
industrialization of, 112–113
All Things Pakistan, 154
Anthropocene epoch, 103–116
anthropocentrism, 113–114
Arab Spring, 125
automobiles, 33–36
B
Bakken formation, 66
basic necessities
centralized provision of, 92–94, 98–99
local provision of, 94–98
as safety net, 83–84
BBC, 155
behavioral changes, 110–114
The Better Angels of Our Nature (Pinker), 121–122
Bhutan, 63
Biello, David, 106
biofuels, 107
birth rates, 110
Blackout (Heinberg), 152
boom times, 114–116
Brand, Stewart, 104
Brazil, 126
British Empire, 122
Brown, Harrison, 60
C
Canada, 26
Capital in the Twenty-First Century (Piketty), 181
Captains of Consciousness (Ewen), 58
carbon capture and storage technology (CCS), 107, 139
Carbon Democracy (Mitchell), 123–124
carbon dioxide
climate change politics and, 47–48
effect on societal change, 179
from gasoline, 35
Carrington Event, 153
cars, 33–36
Catton, William, 164
The Challenge of Man’s Future (Brown), 60
Cheney, Dick, 9
Chicago Sun-Times, 149
Chicago Tribune, 149
civilizations
decline of, 85–86
effects of, 159–160
loss of culture, 147–148
See also industrial civilization
climate change
evidence of, 75–76
in infrastructural transformation, 176, 177
localization and, 142, 144–146
pause, 68–69
places of refuge, 120
politics of, 47–56
public relations message, 37–45
Climate Protection Campaign, 145
Clinton, Bill, 10
cold fusion, 107
collapse
characteristics of, 85–86
stages of, 43
Collapse (Diamond), 156
The Collapse of Complex Societies (Tainter), 85
collapse preparedness, 99–100
commencement address, 73–81
communities
provision of necessities, 94–98
resilience, 71
competitive adaptation, 164–168
conflict
drivers of, 118–121
violence and, 121–123
consumption, 31, 57–64, 110–111, 145, 182
cooperative adaptation, 164–170
corporatism, 182
crisis response, 122–123, 164–168
crisis-led theory of change, 126–131
Cuba, 128
Cultural Anthropology (Harris, Johnson), 175
cultural materialism, 172–173, 175, 180
Cultural Materialism (Harris), 172
culture
electronic media, 148–151
end of civilizations and, 147–148
loss of electricity, 151–158
preservation of, 158–160
D
Daly, Herman, 29
Dancing Rabbit ecovillage, 31–32
Darley, Julian, 9
Davis, Daniel L., 25
death rate, 164
debt, 59
decentralization, 117–131
Deepwater Horizon, 75
deepwater oil, 23
Deffeyes, Kenneth, 8
democracy, 123–126
democratic self-organization, 125–126
Diamond, Jared, 156
Diffusion of Innovations (Rogers), 43–44
digital publishing, 149
digitization, 149–151
disasters
places of refuge, 120
Dodge, Mary Mapes, 65
Dodson, Tim, 24
doomers, 130
Downey, Greg, 126
Dust Bowl, 120
E
Eagle Ford formation, 66
Earth, human impact on, 103–116
ecological slap-downs, 113, 115
economic growth
climate change and, 53–55
inequality with, 118–119, 135, 167–168
peak oil and, 16
role of fossil fuels, 86–88
The Economist, 25, 105, 106–107, 136
economy
alternative measurements, 63
effect of infrastructural change, 180–181
financial crash, 67–68, 141–142
future growth, 37–45
globalization, 134–136
high oil prices and, 13
interest rates and, 30
recovery statistics, 28–29
strategies for simplification, 86–98
Ecuador, 93
electricity, 139, 140, 151–158
electronic media, 148–151
empires, 122
“The End of Cheap Oil” (Campbell, Laherrère), 7–8
energy
agriculture, 20
the future and, 37–45
for globalization, 138–141
inequality and, 167–168
in infrastructural transformation, 177–178
policies, 48
requirements of, 107
Energy and Equity (Illich), 167–168
Energy Information Administration (EIA), 138
The Energy of Slaves (Nikiforuk), 124
Energy Policy, 51
environment
human impact on, 103–116
society changes and, 171–182
environmental refugees, 120
EROEI (energy return on energy invested)
effect on societal change, 178
of renewable energy, 51
trends in, 25–26
Ewen, Stuart, 58
ExxonMobil, 73–78
F
financial crash, 67–68, 141–142
financial industry, 93
Financial Times, 25
food
centralized provision of, 92
in conflict, 121
society changes and, 171–172
fossil fuel
addiction to, 77–78
costs of production, 51–52
for electricity generation, 152–153
in infrastructural transformation, 175–179
role in civilization, 86–88
fossil fuel industry. See oil industry
fracking (hydraulic fracturing), 23, 50, 124–125, 138
French Revolution, 101
Friedman, Milton, 129
G
Gandhi, Mohandas, 60
GDP (gross domestic product)
alternative measurements, 63
deficiencies in use of, 29–30
geomagnetic storms, 153
Gilding, Paul, 128
Global Climate and Energy Project, 78
Global Village Construction Set, 143
global warming. See climate change
globalization
climate change policies, 144–146
development of, 134–137
energy sources, 138–141
The God Species (Lynas), 104
governance, 123–126
government
assessment of, 99
decentralization, 84
democratic self-organization, 125–126
scenarios for simplification, 86–98
Graeber, David, 125–126
grain crops, 109
grassroots opposition, 180
Great Burning, 1–2
The Great Disruption (Gilding), 128
Greensburg, Kansas, 129
Greer, John Michael, 122, 181–182
gross, definition, 19
gross domestic product (GDP)
alternative measurements, 63
deficiencies in use of, 29–30
gross national happiness (GNH), 63–64
H
Hall, Charles, 51
Hans Brinker, or The Silver Skates (Dodge), 65
Hanson, Jay, 8
Happy Planet Index (HPI), 63–64
Harris, Marvin, 171–175
health care, 92
Henderson, Leah, 97
Holmgren, David, 109
Hopkins, Rob, 9–10
household debt, 30
Hubbert’s Peak (Deffeyes), 8
human nature, 110–114
hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”), 23, 50, 124–125, 138
hydrogen power, 140
I
Illich, Ivan, 167–168
industrial civilization
ecosystems and, 112–113
simplification of, 86–98
industrial economy
globalization, 134–135
renewable energy and, 51
Industrial Revolution, 173, 175
industrial socialism, 183
inequality, 118–119, 135, 167–168
infrastructure
elements aligned with, 182–184
transformation, 172–182
integral fast reactor (IFR), 105–107
International Energy Agency, 74
International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), 53
Iraq, 8–9
J
Jackson, Wes, 109
Jacubowski, Marcin, 143
Johnson, Orna, 175
Journal of Retailing (Lebow), 59
K
kerogen, 67
Klein, Naomi, 129
knowledge
electronic media, 148–151
end of civilizations and, 147–148
loss of electricity, 151–158
preservation of, 158–160
Kopits, Steve, 25
Kunstler, Howard, 10
L
Lakabe, 31–32
Lean-Green Anthropocene, 110–114, 116
Lebow, Victor, 59
leverage points, 44
“Leverage Points: Places to Intervene in a System” (Meadows), 44
Lewis, Mark, 25
librarians, 158–159
libraries, 150
Library Journal, 150
Lights Out (Makansi), 151
Limits to Growth, 60
Living the Good Life (Nearing), 60
Local Dollars, Local Sense (Shuman), 96
localism
politics, 144–146
as solution, 94–99
trends in, 133–134, 136–137, 142–144
The Long Emergency (Kunstler), 10
Love Your Monsters (Schellenberger, Nordhaus), 104
Lovins, Amory, 41
Lynas, Mark, 104
M
MacKay, David, 155
Madagascar, 125–126
Madrick, Jeff, 91
Makansi, Jason, 151
Marris, Emma, 104
Marx, Karl, 118
Maximum Power Principle, 110
Meadows, Donella, 44
mechanization, 21
metals, 178–179
Middle East, 124–125
minerals, 178–179
Mitchell, Timothy, 123–124
Mollison, Bill, 109
Morgan, Tim, 25
Movimento Sem Terra, 126
Mutual Aid (Kropotkin), 165, 183
N
Napoleon, 101
National Association of Manufacturers, 58
National Farmers’ Market Directory, 133
Nature, 51
Nearing, Scott and Helen, 60
necessities
centralized provision of, 92–94, 98–99
local provision of, 94–98
for social stability, 83–84
neighborhoods, 96–97
neoliberal economic theory, 176
New Economics Foundation, 63
New Society Publishers, 8
New York Review of Books, 91
New York Times Magazine, 10
Nikiforuk, Andrew, 124
nonprofit organizations, 95–96
Nordhaus, Ted, 104
North Dakota, 138
nuclear fusion, 107
nuclear power, 104–107, 139, 178
nuclear war, 153
nuclear weapons, 123
O
Occupy movement, 125
ocean thermal energy, 107
Odum, Howard T., 110
off-grid systems, 142–143
oil (conventional)
effect of prices, 26–27
gross vs net production, 19–20
peak demand, 12–13
politics and, 124
production rates, 7–8, 11, 137–138
in transportation, 54, 140–141
oil (unconventional)
development of, 13
production methods, 65–67
production rates, 23
profits, 24
oil industry
costs of production, 51–52
decline in, 14
peak oil and, 16
public relations, 73–78
oil shale (kerogen), 67
overproduction, 58
P
Pakistan, 154
“Pandora’s Promise” (documentary), 106
A Paradise Built in Hell (Solnit), 122–123, 165
The Party’s Over (Heinberg), 7–8, 11–15
Paton, Linnea Palmer, 73
peak oil
criticism of, 11–15
growth of movement, 7–10
recognition of, 15–16
permaculture, 109
Petersen, Arthur, 69
petroleum industry. See oil industry
Pinker, Stephen, 121–122
Pleistocene epoch, 173–174
of climate change, 47–56
effect of infrastructural change, 180–181
pollution, 50
population, 100, 111, 161, 163, 164
Population Media Center, 110
post-carbon theory of change, 126–131
PR! (Ewen), 58
profits
conventional oil, 19–20
exploration costs and, 25
trends in, 26
unconventional oil, 23–24
public relations
for climate change issues, 37–45
consumerism and, 57–64
of oil companies, 73–78
Q
quantitative easing (QE) program, 30, 67–68
Quebec, 153
R
Rambunctious Garden (Marris), 104
refuge, 120
Reinventing Collapse (Orlov), 99–100
religion, 121
renewable energy
characteristics of, 27–28
the future and, 37–45, 139–140, 142–143
in infrastructural transformation, 177–178
as solution, 50–51
research studies, 49–50
resilience, 129
resources
competition for, 119–120
consumerism and, 60
energy and, 107
Reuters, 24
revolution, 166
Rich, Celine, 9
Rocky Mountain News, 149
Rogers, Everett, 43–44
S
Santa Rosa, California, 133, 141
Schellenberger, Michael, 104
Schwarzenegger, Arnold, 140
Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 149
Shell, 67
The Shock Doctrine (Klein), 129
Shuman, Michael, 96
Silicon Valley, California, 136
simplification, 117–131
skills, 31
Snake Oil (Heinberg), 152
social collapse, 83–84
social conflicts, 101–102, 117–131
Social Darwinism, 162, 169–170
social safety nets, 162
social services
centralized provision of, 92–94, 98–99
local provision of, 94–98
for stability, 83–84
society
core problems, 79
effect of environment, 171–180
simplification of, 86–89
superstructure changes, 180, 181–182
solar power, 107, 139–140, 142–143
solar pulse, 153
SolaVis, 51
Sonoma County, California, 133, 135–136, 145
Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART), 141
Soviet Union, 99–100
Spain, 140
Spengler, Oswald, 60
Standard Oil Company of California, 137
Stone, Robert, 106
support services, 83–84, 92–94
T
Tainter, Joseph, 85
Techno-Anthropocene, 104–107, 110
Telegraph, 154–155
Tennyson, Alfred, 161
Texas, 138
Thatcher, Margaret, 124
theory of change, 126–131
The Theory of the Leisure Class (Veblen), 59–60
3-D printing, 143
tight oil
EROEI, 12
production rates, 23, 66–67, 138
topsoil, 178–179
Toyota, 140
Transition Initiatives, 10, 31–32, 96
Transition Network, 44–45, 145
Tverberg, Gail, 51
U
Union of Concerned Scientists, 76
United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security, 120
United States
debt, 30
end of empire, 122
energy profit ratios, 26
fluid consumption, 33
resource conflicts, 119–120
social safety nets, 162
US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 28
US Department of Agriculture, 133
US Energy Information Administration, 66
V
Veblen, Thorstein, 59–60
Venezuela, 67
violence, 121–123
W
war, 121–123
water, 178–179
wave power, 107
wealth, 118–119
weapons, 123
World Governance Index, 99
World War II, 128
Y
Yergin, Daniel, 12–13