Confronting Collapse

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...