$50 Gets Your Package Globally – For Free
Delivery & Return:Free shipping on all orders over $50
Estimated Delivery:7-15 days international
People:22 people viewing this product right now!
Easy Returns:Enjoy hassle-free returns within 30 days!
Payment:Secure checkout
SKU:62952721
What would a de-carbonised society be like? What are the implications of a general de-globalisation for our social futures? How will our high-carbon patterns of life be restructured in a de-energized world?As global society gradually wakes up to the new reality of peak oil, these questions remain unanswered. For the last hundred years oil made the world go round, and as we move into the century of 'tough oil' this book examines some profound consequences. It considers what societies would be like that are powering down; what lessons can be learned from the past about de-energized societies; will there be rationing systems or just the market to allocate scarce energy? Can virtual worlds solve energy problems? What levels of income and wellbeing would be likely?In this groundbreaking book, John Urry analyzes how the twentieth century created a kind of mirage of the future that is unsustainable into even the medium term and envisions the future of an oil-dependent world facing energy descent. Without a large-scale plan B, how can the energizing of society possibly be going into reverse?
_Societies Beyond Oil: Oil Dregs amd Social Futures_ is very important because it reminds us that societies have a capital structure and oil is integral to the capital structure of our society. Most books on oil and energy transitions focus on certain economic and political aspects and leave aside social, cultural, and psychological issues that will accompany a likely transition from oil and gas to, hopefully, a "new energy subsidy" (Joseph A Tainter) . Some economic ramifications are rarely discussed. Imagine the US had to transition rapidly from oil to renewable energy sources, it would turn the country upside-down financially and fiscally. The author of this book has degrees in both Economics and Sociology and has read many books by the most important thinkers on energy, systems, and history such as Joseph A Tainter, Vaclav Smil, and R Buckminster Fuller. This book is a very thoughtful treatment of the socioeconomic effects of peak oil. A book that I highly recommend to read with, preferably before, this one is _The Energy of Slaves: Oil and the New Servitude_ by Andrew Nikiforuk.
