Afterburn

1. Arguably, overpopulation is as big an issue as our energy-climate conundrum. I’ve chosen not to focus on it here merely to streamline the narrative. There are many feedbacks between population, energy, and climate, and these deserve discussion elsewhere.

2. ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/roadmap/faq_en.htm

3. sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421510008645

4. amazon.com/The-Five-Stages-Collapse-Survivors/dp/0865717362/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1383196999&sr=8-1&keywords=five+stages+of+collapse

5. cluborlov.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-sixth-stage-of-collapse.html

6. Rogers, Everett M., Diffusion of Innovations, (Glencoe: Free Press, 1962).

7. sustainabilityinstitute.org/pubs/Leverage_Points.pdf

8. amazon.com/Voluntary-Simplicity-Toward-Outwardly-Inwardly/dp/0061779261/ref=pd_sim_b_3

9. For more suggestions to elected officials, see this “top 10” list compiled by Herman Daly: resilience.org/stories/2013-10-29/top-10-policies-for-a-steady-state-economy

Chapter 5: The Purposely Confusing World of Energy Politics

1. articles.latimes.com/2013/jun/21/opinion/la-oe-zierman-california-fracking-moratorium-20130621

2. sourcewatch.org/index.php/Fracking_and_water_pollution

3. bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-04/study-shows-fracking-is-bad-for-babies.html

4. scientificamerican.com/article/a-path-to-sustainable-energy-by-2030

5. See greens.org/s-r/60/60-09.html, https://socialsciences.arts.unsw.edu.au/tsw/JandDreplytoreply.htm, and andrew.cmu.edu/user/pjaramil/ClIMA/Publications_files/Energy%20Policy%202013%20Gilbraith.pdf

6. See stanford.edu/group/efmh/jacobson/Articles/I/NYSWWSRespComm.pdfandsciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421512009792

7. ourfiniteworld.com/2014/01/21/ten-reasons-intermittent-renewables-wind-and-solar-pv-are-a-problem

8. solavis.ch/files/Fossil_Infrastructure_Cost_vs_Renewable_Energy_System_Cost.pdf

9. amazon.com/Spains-Photovoltaic-Revolution-Investment-SpringerBriefs/dp/144199436X

10. americanenergyindependence.com/solarenergy.aspx

11. sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421511004836

12. nature.com/nclimate/journal/v3/n2/full/nclimate1683.html

13. oedigital.com/energy/shale/item/2810-ioc-production-falls-25-in-past-12-years

14. online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303277704579348332283819314

15. bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-30/shell-profit-drops-48-as-oil-and-gas-production-declines.html

16. postcarbon.org/drill-baby-drill/report

17. scientificamerican.com/article/climate-science-predictions-prove-too-conservative

18. climatedepot.com/2013/11/25/a-planned-economic-recession-global-warming-prof-kevin-anderson-who-has-cut-back-on-showering-to-save-planet-asserts-economic-de-growth-is-needed-continuing-with-ec/

19. greencarreports.com/news/1089555_electric-car-market-share-in-2013-understanding-the-numbers-better

Chapter 6: The Brief, Tragic Reign of Consumerism

1. powells.com/biblio/1-9780465021550-1

2. powells.com/biblio/61–9780465061792-1

3. powells.com/biblio/1-9780486280622-1

4. amazon.com/Living-Sanely-Simply-Troubled-World/dp/0805203001/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1373417620&sr=8-2&keywords=living+the+good+life+nearing

5. amazon.com/Challenge-Mans-Future-Harrison-Brown/dp/0813300339/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1373397503&sr=8-1&keywords=the+challenge+of+man%27s+future

6. amazon.com/Limits-Growth-Donella-H-Meadows/dp/0451057678/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1373397682&sr=8-2&keywords=the+limits+to+growth

7. csiro.au/files/files/plje.pdf

8. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecological_economics

9. spiegel.de/international/germany/peak-oil-and-the-german-government-military-study-warns-of-a-potentially-drastic-oil-crisis-a-715138.html, unep.org/newscentre/default.aspx?DocumentID=2697&ArticleID=9303

10. grossnationalhappiness.com

11. happyplanetindex.org

Chapter 7: Fingers in the Dike

1. resilience.org/stories/2013-09-19/peak-oil-demand-peak-oil

2. peakoilbarrel.com/shocker-world-depending-usa-save-peak-oil

3. postcarbon.org/drill-baby-drill/report

4. latimes.com/business/la-fi-oil-20140521-story.html

5. huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/25/shell-abandons-oil-shale_n_3991716.html

6. amazon.com/The-End-Growth-Adapting-Economic/dp/0865716951/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1380303127&sr=8-1&keywords=heinberg+end+of+growth

7. https://medium.com/the-physics-arxiv-blog/5e1dd9d1642

8. elsa.berkeley.edu/~saez/saez-UStopincomes-2012.pdf

9. ellenbrown.com/2013/02/24/how-the-fed-could-fix-the-economy-and-why-it-hasnt

10. metoffice.gov.uk/research/news/recent-pause-in-warming

11. wattsupwiththat.com/2013/09/05/statistical-proof-of-the-pause-overestimated-global-warming-over-the-past-20-years

12. npr.org/2013/08/29/216415005/a-cooler-pacific-may-be-behind-recent-pause-in-global-warming

13. smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/global-warming-pause-caused-by-la-nina-20130829-2ss3p.html

14. resilience.org/stories/2013-09-26/faux-pause-ocean-warming-sea-level-rise-and-polar-ice-melt-speed-up-surface-warming-to-follow

15. news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/27_09_13_ipccsummary.pdf

16. bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24173504

17. There are countless resources for all these ideas; some of the best can be found at resilience.org and transitionus.org

Chapter 9: The Fight of the Century

1. Joseph Tainter, The Collapse of Complex Societies, New York: Cambridge University Press, 1988.

2. Ibid., 23.

3. See, for example, George Soros’s comments in this recent Newsweek interview: newsweek.com/george-soros-coming-us-class-war-64271

4. nybooks.com/blogs/nyrblog/2012/jan/06/europe-cutting-hope

5. huffingtonpost.com/pavlina-r-tcherneva/navigating-the-jobs-crisi_b_370387.html

6. energybulletin.net/stories/2012-01-27/why-climate-change-will-make-you-love-big-government

7. guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2012/jan/19/ecuador-radical-exciting-place

8. As described by John Michael Greer in The Ecotechnic Future, powells.com/biblio/2-9780865716391-2,70ff.

9. See Michael Shuman, The Small-Mart Revolution, amazon.com/The-Small-Mart-Revolution-Businesses-Competition/dp/1576754669

10. powells.com/biblio/62-9781603583435-0

11. truth-out.org/occupy-neighborhood/1326472096

12. truth-out.org/what-happened-canada/1327935024

13. nytimes.com/2012/01/09/world/europe/amid-economic-strife-greeks-look-to-farming-past.html?_r=1

14. world-governance.org/spip.php?article469

15. powells.com/biblio/1-9780865716858-0

16. For an entertaining and quick summary of the French Revolution, its failures, and its consequences, see the vlogbrothers video series at youtube.com/watch?v=BvSod16wfgg

Chapter 10: The Anthropocene: It’s Not All About Us

1. marklynas.org/2011/05/welcome-to-the-anthropocene

2. ericcavalcanti.wordpress.com/2011/02/08/the-anthropocene-and-the-new-green-stewart-brand-on-edge

3. amazon.com/Love-Your-Monsters-Postenvironmentalism-Anthropocene-ebook/dp/B006FKUJY6

4. amazon.com/Rambunctious-Garden-Saving-Nature-Post-Wild/dp/160819454X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1395765262&sr=1-1&keywords=marris

5. resilience.org/stories/2014-04-13/did-crude-oil-production-actually-peak-in-2005

6. worldwatch.org/nuclear-power-after-fukushima

7. enenews.com/pbs-reporter-the-whole-world-needs-to-pay-attention-to-whats-going-on-at-fukushima-magnitude-of-mess-is-actually-staggering-we-really-dont-know-how-theyre-going-to

8. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-level_radioactive_waste_management

9. online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB121055252677483933

10. forbes.com/sites/tomaspray/2011/07/26/uranium-shortage-cant-be-ignored

11. commondreams.org/headlines03/0427-02.htm

12. economist.com/node/21549936

13. powermag.com/blog/the-ups-and-downs-of-u-s-nuclear-power

14. imdb.com/title/tt1992193

15. beyondnuclear.org/pandoras-false-promises

16. scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=are-new-types-of-reactors-needed-for-nuclear-renaissance

17. rainforestconservation.org/rainforest-primer/3-rainforests-in-peril-deforestation/c-human-use-of-biological-productivity-the-diversion-of-net-primary-productivity

18. resilience.org/stories/2014-02-11/the-purposely-confusing-world-of-energy-politics

19. co-intelligence.org/P-permaculture.html

20. See permacultureprinciples.com

21. landinstitute.org

22. transitionnetwork.org

23. See the work of Population Media Center, populationmedia.org

24. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maximum_power_principle

25. theoildrum.com/node/2592

26. diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:235822/FULLTEXT01.pdf

27. monbiot.com/2014/03/24/destroyer-of-worlds

28. rsta.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/369/1938/1010.full

29. ecologyandsociety.org/vol16/iss2/art12

30. For a rather irreverent take on popular misconceptions about the “Dark Ages,” see cracked.com/article_20615_5-ridiculous-myths-you-probably-believe-about-dark-ages.html

Chapter 11: Conflict in the Era of Economic Decline

1. See, for example, motherboard.vice.com/2012/9/10/we-are-now-one-year-and-counting-from-global-riots-complex-systems-theorists-say--2

2. resilience.org/stories/2012-11-08/the-post-american-future

3. carolmoore.net/nuclearwar/alternatescenarios.html

4. thewhitereview.org/interviews/interview-with-david-graeber

5. energybulletin.net/stories/2012-02-16/david-graeber-anthropologist-anarchist-financial-analyst

Chapter 12: All Roads Lead Local

1. pressdemocrat.com/article/20140525/business/140529729#page=0

2. latimes.com/business/la-fi-oil-20140521-story.html

3. scientificamerican.com/article/a-path-to-sustainable-energy-by-2030

4. theenergycollective.com/jared-anderson/382141/german-lesson-renewable-power-policies

5. kevinanderson.info/blog/avoiding-dangerous-climate-change-demands-de-growth-strategies-from-wealthier-nations

6. reuters.com/article/2012/11/14/us-usa-obama-climate-idUSBRE8AD1IU20121114

7. transitionus.org

8. ilsr.org/key-studies-walmart-and-bigbox-retail

Chapter 13: Our Evanescent Culture

1. bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aJf0ZOXN22jY

2. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decline_of_newspapers

3. publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/financial-reporting/article/61667-book-sales-rose-1-in-2013.html. beyondthemargins.com/2013/06/book-facts-and-stats

4. However, it should be noted that vinyl is making a strong niche comeback; see nytimes.com/2013/06/10/arts/music/vinyl-records-are-making-a-comeback.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

5. libraryjournal.com/article/CA6574501.html

6. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_preservation.Seealsotheatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/05/the-library-of-congress-wants-to-destroy-your-old-cds-for-science/370804

7. postcarbon.org/report/44377-searching-for-a-miracle

8. spectrum.ieee.org/energy/the-smarter-grid/a-perfect-storm-of-planetary-proportions

9. pakistaniat.com/2009/01/06/electricity-crisis-in-pakistan

10. telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/energy/oilandgas/6142972/Britain-heading-back-to-the-dark-ages.html

11. news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8249540.stm

Chapter 14: Our Cooperative Darwinian Moment

1. dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1317867/Prehistoric-humans-compassion-cared-others.html

2. amazon.com/Overshoot-Ecological-Basis-Revolutionary-Change/dp/0252009886

3. jayhanson.us/_Systems/PopulationCrash_ProspectsForFamineInTheTwenty-FirstCentury.pdf

4. resalliance.org/index.php/key_concepts

5. powells.com/biblio/61-9781441522245-1

6. phys.org/news/2012-07-cooperation-trump-competition-monkeys.html

7. dailymail.co.uk/news/article-533571/Animal-magic-Why-species-helping-hand-flipper.html

8. fulltextarchive.com/pdfs/Mutual-Aid.pdf

9. nytimes.com/2009/08/21/books/21book.html?pagewanted=all

10. plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0026922

11. alternet.org/belief/us-vs-them-simple-recipe-prevent-strong-society-forming

12. amazon.com/Energy-Equity-Ideas-Progress-Illich/dp/0714510580/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1343933288&sr=8-1&keywords=ivan+illich+energy+and+equity

Chapter 15: Want to Change the World? Read This First

1. The simple observation that human culture is adaptive to environmental conditions is revelatory: Jared Diamond (author of Guns, Germs and Steel) has based a career on it, though he consistently fails to credit Harris—who was earlier and more thorough. Harris himself was careful to cite predecessors upon whose work he was building, including Karl Marx.

2. books.google.com/books?id=8Xc9DMbB5KQC&printsec=frontcover&dq=%22materialism%22&hl=en&ei=meSKTIetFMu8cZOwyMkE&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=10&ved=0CFUQ6AEwCQ#v=onepage&q&f=false

3. The term materialism is loaded with connotations that distract from the issues at hand. Marvin Harris uses it to refer merely to a way of thinking that assumes material effects are due to material causes. When I was teaching a college program on sustainability, I suggested to my students that they think of probabilistic infrastructural determinism as “cultural ecology.” I knew this was somewhat inaccurate, as cultural ecology is a school of anthropological thought (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_ecology) closely related to, but distinct from, cultural materialism. However, many students simply couldn’t get past the word materialism: for them, this was an irremediably distasteful term associated both with the negation of spirituality and with the American mania for buying and consuming corporate products.

4. amazon.com/Cultural-Anthropology-Marvin-Harris/dp/0205454437/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1399841320&sr=8-1&keywords=marvin+harris+cultural+anthropology

5. See the essay “The Gross Society,” Chapter 2 in this book.

6. amazon.com/Blackout-Coal-Climate-Energy-Crisis/dp/0865716560/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1399308687&sr=8-1&keywords=blackout+heinberg

7. scientificamerican.com/article/eroi-behind-numbers-energy-return-investment/

8. postcarbon.org/report/41306-the-food-and-farming-transition-toward

9. america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/5/4/youth-sue-governmentforclimateinaction.html

10. theglobeandmail.com/life/health-and-fitness/health/youth-anxiety-on-the-rise-amid-changing-climate/article18372258/

11. amazon.com/Capital-Twenty-First-Century-Thomas-Piketty/dp/067443000X/ref=sr_1_I?ie=UTF8&qid=1399480770&sr=8-I&keywords=piketty

12. gallup.com/poll/5392/trust-government.aspx

13. bloomberg.com/news/2014-04-30/china-set-to-overtake-u-s-as-biggest-economy-using-ppp-measure.html

14. postcarbon.org/article/941201-end-of-growth-update-neither-a

15. thearchdruidreport.blogspot.com/2013/04/the-religion-of-progress.html