Peak Everything

Peak Everything: Waking Up to the Century of Declines by Richard Heinberg (2007)

The 20th century saw unprecedented growth in population, energy consumption and food production. As the population shifted from rural to urban, the impact of humans on the environment increased dramatically.

The 21st century ushered in an era of declines, in a number of crucial parameters:

• Global oil, natural gas and coal extraction
• Yearly grain harvests
• Climate stability
• Population
• Economic growth
• Fresh water
• Minerals and ores, such as copper and platinum

To adapt to this profoundly different world, we must begin now to make radical changes to our attitudes, behaviors and expectations.

Peak Everything addresses many of the cultural, psychological and practical changes we will have to make as nature rapidly dictates our new limits. This latest book from Richard Heinberg, author of three of the most important books on Peak Oil, touches on the most important aspects of the human condition at this unique moment in time.

A combination of wry commentary and sober forecasting on subjects as diverse as farming and industrial design, this book tells 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.

Listen to an interview with Richard Heinberg from WRPI.

About the Author

Richard Heinberg, from Santa Rosa, CA, is widely regarded as one of the world's foremost Peak Oil educators. A member of the core faculty at New College of California and Rsearch Fellow of the Post Carbon Insitute, he is an award-winning author of seven books. His monthly Museletter has been in publication since 1992.

See other books by Richard Heinberg: The Party's Over and Powerdown.