The Party's Over : Oil, War and the Fate of Industrial Societies

The world is about to run out of cheap oil and change dramatically. Within the next few years, global production will peak. Thereafter, even if industrial societies begin to switch to alternative energy sources, they will have less net energy each year to do all the work essential to the survival of complex societies. We are entering a new era, as different from the industrial era as the latter was from medieval times. In The Party’s Over, Richard Heinberg places this momentous transition in historical context, showing how industrialism arose from the harnessing of fossil fuels, how competition to control access to oil shaped the geopolitics of the twentieth century and how contention for dwindling energy resources in the twenty-first century will lead to resource wars in the Middle East, Central Asia and South America. He describes the likely impacts of oil depletion and all of the energy alternatives. Predicting chaos unless the United States—the world’s foremost oil consumer—is willing to join with other countries to implement a global program of resource conservation and sharing, he also recommends a “managed collapse” that might make way for a slower-paced, low-energy, sustainable society in the future. More readable than other accounts of this issue, with fuller discussion of the context, social implications and recommendations for personal, community, national and global action, Heinberg’s updated book is a riveting wake-up call for human-kind as the oil era winds down, and a critical tool for understanding and influencing current US foreign policy. Richard Heinberg, from Santa Rosa, California, has been writing about energy resources issues and the dynamics of cultural change for many years. A member of the core faculty at New College of California, he is an award-winning author of three previous books. His Museletter was nominated for the Best Alternative Newsletter award by Utne in 1993. The world is about to run out of cheap oil and change dramatically. Within the next few years, global production will peak. Thereafter, even if industrial societies begin to switch to alternative energy sources, they will have less net energy each year to do all the work essential to the survival of complex societies. We are entering a new era, as different from the industrial era as the latter was from medieval times. In The Party's Over, Richard Heinberg places this momentous transition in historical context, showing how industrialism arose from the harnessing of fossil fuels, how competition to control access to oil shaped the geopolitics of the 20th century, and how contention for dwindling energy resources in the 21st century will lead to resource wars in the Middle East, Central Asia, and South America. He describes the likely impacts of oil depletion, and all of the energy alternatives. Predicting chaos unless the U.S. -- the world's foremost oil consumer -- is willing to join with other countries to implement a global program of resource conservation and sharing, he also recommends a'managed collapse'that might make way for a slower-paced, low-energy, sustainable society in the future. More readable than other accounts of this issue, with fuller discussion of the context, social implications, and recommendations for personal, community, national, and global action, Heinberg's updated book is a riveting wake-up call for humankind as the oil era winds down, and a critical tool for understanding and influencing current U.S. foreign policy. Listen to an interview with Richard Heinberg from WRPI. The world is about to change dramatically and forever as the result of oil depletion. Within the next few years, the global production of oil will peak. Thereafter, even with a switch to alternative energy sources, industrial societies will have less energy available to do all the things essential to their survival. We are entering a new era as different from the industrial era as the latter was from medieval times.The Party's Over deals head-on with this imminent decline of cheap oil. It shows how oil and war have always been closely related for the past century and how competition to control oil supplies is likely to lead to new resource wars in the Middle East, Central Asia and South America. Tracing the crucial role of fossil fuels in the rise of industrialism, the book discusses the degree to which energy alternatives can compensate for oil and recommends a managed transition to a slower-paced, low-energy, sustainable society in the future.This substantially revised edition brings the current debate over oil supplies and forecasts up to date, includes more recent evidence for a near-term oil peak, adds material on the looming natural gas crisis and on possible non-petroleum sources of energy, and discusses in more depth the geopolitics of the steadily souring oil binge and the options now before us.A riveting wake-up call, The Party's Over is essential reading for all those concerned with the future of modern life as we know it. "The world is about to change dramatically and forever as the result of oil depletion. Within the next few years, the global production of oil will peak. Thereafter, even with a switch to alternative energy sources, industrial societies will have less energy available to do all the things essential to their survival. We are entering a new era as different from the industrial era as the latter was from medieval times." "The Party's Over deals head-on with this imminent decline of cheap oil. It shows how oil and war have always been closely related for the past century and how competition to control oil supplies is likely to lead to new resource wars in the Middle East, Central Asia and South America. Tracing the crucial role of fossil fuels in the rise of industrialism, the book discusses the degree to which energy alternatives can compensate for oil and recommends a managed transition to a slower-paced, low-energy, sustainable society in the future." "This substantially revised edition brings the current debate over oil supplies and forecasts up to date, includes more recent evidence for a near-term oil peak, adds material on the looming natural gas crisis and on possible nonpetroleum sources of energy, and discusses in more depth the geopolitics of the steadily souring oil binge and the options now before us."--Jacket An updated edition of this bestselling book on the end of oil -- and its consequences