Suchergebnisse

"Power traces how humans have come to overpower the earth's natural systems and to oppress one another, with catastrophic consequences. We must rapidly re-learn the lessons of power self-limitation rooted in evolution and human history if we are to stave off ecological and social collapse and enjoy a thriving future."--

From climate change, resource wars, to the collapse of consumerism, we are in for a wild ride. Afterburn is an exploration of the vital issues confronting humanity - and us as individuals - as the fossil fuel era draws to a close and we prepare for a 'civilization reboot' similar in scale to the agricultural and industrial revolutions.

Intro -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction: The New Normal -- Why Is Growth Ending? -- The End of Growth Should Come As no Surprise -- Why Is Growth So Important? -- But Isn't Growth normal? -- The Simple Math of Compounded Growth -- The Peak Oil Scenario -- From Scary Theory to Scarier Reality -- Bursting Bubbles -- What Comes After Growth? -- A Guide to the Book -- 1. The Great Balloon Race -- Economic History in Ten Minutes -- Economics for the Hurried -- 20th-Century Economics -- Business Cycles, Interest Rates, and Central Banks -- Mad Money -- I Owe You -- 2. The Sound of Air Escaping -- Houses of Cards -- Setting the Stage: 1970 to 2001 -- Shadow Banks and the Housing Bubble -- What Goes Up... -- The Mother of All Manias -- Limits to Debt -- All Loaned Up and nowhere to Go -- Stimulus Duds, Bailout Blanks -- Actions by Other nations and Their Central Banks -- After All the Arrows have Flown -- Deflation or Inflation? -- The Bridge to nowhere -- 3. Earth's Limits: Why Growth Won't Return -- Oil -- Other Energy Sources -- How Markets May Respond to Resource Scarcity: The Goldilocks Syndrome -- Water -- Food -- Metals and Other Minerals -- Climate Change, Pollution, Accidents, Environmental Decline, and natural Disasters -- 4. Won't Innovation, Substitution, and Efficiency Keep Us Growing? -- Substitutes Forever -- Energy Efficiency to the Rescue -- Business Development: The Cavalry's on the Way -- Moore's or Murphy's Law? -- Specialization and Globalization: Genies at Our Command. -- 5. Shrinking Pie: Competition and Relative Growth in a Finite World -- The China Bubble -- Currency Wars -- Post-Growth Geopolitics -- Population Stress: Old vs. Young on a Full Planet -- The End of "Development"? -- The Post-Growth Struggle Between Rich and Poor -- 6. Managing Contraction, Redefining Progress -- The Default Scenario

In diesem Jahr ist in der breiten Öffentlichkeit aufgrund der hohen Ölpreise erstmals realisiert worden, dass die benötigte Menge an Rohöl das tatsächlich auf dem Markt verfügbare Quantum übersteigen könnte. Das ist insofern von Bedeutung, als die Begrenztheit zwar bekannt ist, das Problem der "großen Umwälzung" aber bislang beständig ignoriert oder weit in die Zukunft verschoben wurde. Der amerikanische Publizist führt den Nachweis, dass sich Angebot und Nachfrage an Rohöl nur noch wenige Jahre die Waage halten werden, aufgrund des steigenden Verbrauchs dürfte zudem die Höchstfördermenge schon 2012 unterschritten sein. Heinberg diskutiert Auswirkungen auf einzelne Staaten und Subsysteme wie Verkehr, Gesundheitswesen, Landwirtschaft und Energieversorgung. Ein Ersatz durch andere Energieträger werde kaum gelingen, nötig sei der Umbau der gesamten Energieversorgung zugunsten regenerativer Energien. Stichhaltige Argumentation, die sich intensiv mit zahlreichen Einwänden auseinander setzt. Eindringlicher als z.B. C. J. Campbell: "Ölwechsel!" (BA 5/03) oder F. Alt: "Krieg um Öl ..." (BA 3/03). (2) (Michael Reisser)

It is claimed that resource scarcity will be a big threat to national security in the future as the UK will find itself increasingly reliant on unstable regions for its fuel supplies. Oil may be the first resource over which we feel the pinch. Here Richard Heinberg argues that the end of oil constitutes the greatest economic challenge since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution

The next few decades will see a profound energy transformation throughout the world. By the end of the century (and perhaps sooner), we will shift from fossil fuel dependence to rely primarily on renewable sources like solar, wind, biomass, and geothermal power. Driven by the need to avert catastrophic climate change and by the depletion of easily accessible oil, coal, and natural gas, this transformation will entail a major shift in how we live. What might a 100% renewable future look like? Which technologies will play a crucial role in our energy future? What challenges will we face in this transition? And how can we make sure our new system is just and equitable? This volume explores the challenges and opportunities presented by the shift to renewable energy. Beginning with a comprehensive overview of our current energy system, the authors survey issues of energy supply and demand in key sectors of the economy, including electricity generation, transportation, buildings, and manufacturing. In their detailed review of each sector, the authors examine the most crucial challenges we face, from intermittency in fuel sources to energy storage and grid redesign. The book concludes with a discussion of energy and equity and a summary of key lessons and steps forward at the individual, community, and national level. The transition to clean energy will not be a simple matter of replacing coal with wind power or oil with solar; it will require us to adapt our energy usage as dramatically as we adapt our energy sources. This book is a clear-eyed and urgent guide to this transformation that will be a crucial resource for policymakers and energy activists