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Confronting Collapse
Book

Confronting Collapse

The Crisis of Energy and Money in a Post Peak Oil World

Michael C. Ruppert
Chelsea Green Publishing, 2009

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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Eye Opening

Recommendation

Energy crisis expert Michael C. Ruppert says the sky is falling and makes a strong argument as to why you should heed his warnings. Ruppert marshals compelling facts about the imminent collapse of the oil fields, whose cheap energy has fueled developed society’s way of life for more than a century. He shows how the global financial system’s continual growth drove overconsumption destined to ruin any rational response to the energy crisis. He offers solutions using equal parts “relocalization,” population reduction, resource management and an overhaul of the American governmental system. Noting that the author’s political opinions are controversial, getAbstract recommends this book’s energy crisis information to local and federal government planners, finance professionals, anyone in the energy industry and policy makers looking to construct a societal paradigm for a new, frightening age.

Summary

The Scope of the Problem

Contemporary civilization is a creation of cheap oil and hydrocarbon fuels. The planet has reached the peak of easily obtainable oil, and the coming shortages will be catastrophic. The globe’s current economic woes arise from a nexus of energy and money – a relationship that must be overhauled. Experts such as geologist M. King Hubbert have warned over the years about the looming apex of cheap oil production; still no viable alternatives exist to replace society’s fossil-fuel architecture. Oil insiders such as Dick Cheney (former CEO of oil-services giant Halliburton) crafted secret plans to manage the crisis, including the invasion of Iraq. Debates in Congress and during the presidential campaign showed that Americans remain tragically ignorant of oil depletion and its implications.

The current system encourages people to consume energy to feed an unsustainable economic model that requires endless growth. A global emergency looms as the era of cheap oil ends, an emergency born of resource shortages. This crisis is the product of a global population that continues to surge even as inexpensive energy sources dwindle. The US, which uses a quarter...

About the Author

Michael C. Ruppert, an investigative journalist, also wrote Crossing the Rubicon.

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