 |
There are currently, 383 guest(s) and 0 member(s) that are online.
You are Anonymous user. You can register for free by clicking here
| |
| |
Powerdown: Options and Actions for a Post-Carbon World
Posted on Monday, August 02, 2004 @ 15:20:28 UTC by vlad
|
|
From David Creighton (fw e-mail): Hello David
We have just received our shipment of Richard Heinberg's latest book, 'Powerdown: Options and Actions for a Post-Carbon World.' I have been anticipating its arrival for several days since we have received quite a few advance orders and of course I was looking forward to reading it myself. Last night, I was up reading till 4am!
Powerdown is a brilliant analysis of the options available to a civilization facing resource depletion, biosphere collapse, and financial insolvency.
Differentiating his book from the slew of peak oil books that have recently appeared on shelves, Heinberg makes a cogent, impassioned proposal for a strategy of self-limitation, sharing, and cooperation while preparing for the possibility of collapse. I file Powerdown in the 'must read' category for the "walking worried" ? that is, anyone concerned about what is happening and wondering what can be done to avert worst-case scenarios.
Julian Darley (Director of Post Carbon Institute) writes: Powerdown is the only sane response to the world's increasingly grave problems of energy depletion, environmental degradation, and over-population. Richard Heinberg truly understands the nature, scale, and urgency of our global situation. As we briefly rest on the plateau of world oil production peak, Heinberg first outlines the possible unpleasant paths our society may take through energy decline. He then makes it devastatingly clear that a humane post-carbon future depends on urging our governments to powerdown, while we start to relocalise our economies and build community lifeboats.
If you would like to buy the book, please try to use your local independent bookstore first ? if you still have one! It is also most important that local public libraries have this kind of information available. They are normally pleased to receive book order requests.
If you like the book as much as we do, then you can go to http://www.postcarbon.org/takeaction/powerdown/ to see some suggestions about how to get the book into independent bookstores and local public (and university) libraries.
If you want the book as soon as possible, and you appreciate the work we are doing, please buy Powerdown from our site: http://store.postcarbon.org. You can also get it from the publisher, New Society (http://www.newsociety.com).
In the very near future, we will have a site dedicated to Powerdown; stay tuned for more.
All the best,
DaveR
David Room
Communications Director
Post Carbon Institute
www.postcarbon.org
www.globalpublicmedia.com
|
| |
|
Don't have an account yet? You can create one. As a registered user you have some advantages like theme manager, comments configuration and post comments with your name.
| |
Average Score: 4.75
Votes: 4
| |
|
|
No Comments Allowed for Anonymous, please register |
|
Re: Powerdown: Options and Actions for a Post-Carbon World (Score: 1)
by kurt9 on Monday, August 02, 2004 @ 23:04:44 UTC
(User Info | Send a Message) http://www.metatechnica.com | I agree that there are better alternatives to hydrocarbon fuel. The best current one is nuclear power, preferably in the form of the integral fast reactor (IFR).
Piddle-power schemes (solar, wind, biomass, etc.) simply cannot generate the gigawatts and terawatts of electricity necessary for an advanced technological civilization.
Also, the postcarbon website was interesting from the standpoint that they don't like suburbia and, yet, the cover of the book shows a darkened NYC, a very urban, not suburban area.
The fact is that urban, high-rise living is the most energy-efficient way for large populations to live. Far more energy efficient than suburban living.
Also, I do not share the doom and gloom over natural gas. Thomas Gold's theory of natural gas being of abiotic origin is almost certain to be correct. The recent discovery of methane gas on Mars is confirmation of his theory.
In any case, nuclear power (ultimately in the form of fusion) is the only sensible way to power a modern civilization. The Chinese have recently expressed interest in the Integral fast reactor (ifr) concept.
I think Asia will go for nuclear power in a BIG way in the coming decades (assuming no breakthrough in fusion or ZPE). They will be the richer because of that.
I also do not think that "localization" is the future trend. I think globalization will continue. However, I do think that many of the giant corporations will collapse, because of bureaucratic inertia and thier inability to compete with smaller start-ups. The system will become global, but the players will become smaller and smaller.
For example, in my busines, I don't sell to a "local" market. I sell to the entire world, using local independent sales agents. You can think of me as a one-person multinational. |
|
|
|
|
