The Long Descent

SeattleOil.com The Internet writings of John Michael Greer beyond any doubt the greatest peak oil historian in the English language have finally made their way into print Greer fans will recognize many of the book s passages from previous essays, but will be delighted to see them fleshed out here with additional examples and analysis The Long Descent is one of the most highly anticipated peak oil books of the year, and it lives up to every ounce of hype Greer is a captivating, brilliantly inventive writer with a deep knowledge of history, an impressive amount of mechanical savvy, a flair for storytelling and a gift for drawing art analogies His new book presents an astonishing view of our society s past, present and future trajectory one that is unmatched in its breadth and depth Reviewed by Frank KaminskiWired.com The Long Descent is a welcome antidote to the armageddonism that often accompanies peak oil discussions The decline of a civilization is rarely anything like so sudden for those who live through it writes Greer, encouragingly it s a much slower and complex transformation than the sudden catastrophes imagined by many soical critics today The changes that will follow the decline of world petroleum production are likely to be sweeping and global, Greer concludes, but from the perspective of those who live through them these changes are much likely to take gradual and local forms Reviewed by Bruce SterlingAmericans are expressing deep concern about US dependence on petroleum, rising energy prices, and the threat of climate change Unlike the energy crisis of the 1970s, however, there is a lurking fear that now the times are different and the crisis may not easily be resolved.The Long Descent examines the basis of such fear through three core themes Industrial society is following the same well worn path that has led other civilizations into decline, a path involving a much slower and complex transformation than the sudden catastrophes imagined by so many social critics today The roots of the crisis lie in the cultural stories that shape the way we understand the world Since problems cannot be solved with the same thinking that created them, these ways of thinking need to be replaced with others better suited to the needs of our time It is too late for massive programs for top down change the change must come from individuals.Hope exists in actions that range from taking up a handicraft or adopting an obsolete technology, through planting an organic vegetable garden, taking charge of your own health care or spirituality, and building community.Focusing eloquently on constructive adaptation to massive change, this book will have wide appeal.John Michael Greer is a certified Master Conserver, organic gardener, and scholar of ecological history The current Grand Archdruid of the Ancient Order of Druids in America AODA , his widely cited blog, The Archdruid Report thearchdruidreport.blogspot.com deals with peak oil, among other issues He lives in Ashland, Oregon. Read The Long Descent – kino-fada.fr Good, if somewhat repetitive, until the last two chapters Thesis Fossil fuels will be gone one day, and industrial civilization will collapse, not in the way Hollywood or many a book you can find on goodreads suggests, in an apocalyptic fall to tooth and nail fighting and cannibalism, but how all other major civilizations have fallen, in a slow stair step manner, with minor recoveries slowing the fall as populations decline Nor will technology save us Solar panels take as much energy to ma Good, if somewhat repetitive, until the last two chapters Thesis Fossil fuels will be gone one day, and industrial civilization will collapse, not in the way Hollywood or many a book you can find on goodreads suggests, in an apocalyptic fall to tooth and nail fighting and cannibalism, but how all other major civilizations have fallen, in a slow stair step manner, with minor recoveries slowing the fall as populations decline Nor will technology save us Solar panels take as much energy to manufacture as they return in 10 20 years, hyd...First book I ve read by a druid and a very interesting book it is Greer is an out of the box thinker faced with a choice between two alternatives, he automatically looks for a third And into the critical debate over how industrial civilization will respond to ecological overshoot peak oil, peak soil, resource shortages, overpopulation, and so on , which is dominated by a vigorously contested struggle between Cornucopians, who think that science and technology will find a way for economic First book I ve read by a druid and a very interesting book it is Greer is an out of the box thinker faced with a choice between two alternatives, he automatically looks for a third And into the critical debate over how industrial civilization will respond to ecological overshoot peak oil, peak soil, resource shortages, overpopulation, and so on , which is dominated by a vigorously contested struggle between Cornucopians, who think that science and tec...This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers To view it, click here Lots of good stuff in this book, but it took me a long time to finish, given that Greer s non fiction writing style tends to put me to sleep after a couple paragraphs As a regular reader of his blog, The Archdruid Report, I d seen most of this information before, but there were lots of new things I d never seen him discuss in the blog...Little of this, I suspect, will be new to anyone familiar with the brief explosion of literature on peak oil and transition movements since the 1970s, but this is nevertheless an excellent updated introduction to the genre, as well as the reality we are already facing in various forms It has some warts both factual and conceptual , but these are minor blemishes on what is generally a well balanced and thoughtful exploration of imminent de industrialisation in the face of depleting resources, c Little of this, I suspect, will be new to anyone familiar with the brief explosion of literature on peak oil and transition movements since the 1970s, but this is nevertheless an excellent updated introduction to the genre, as well as the reality we are already facing in various forms It has some warts both factual and conceptual , but these are minor blemishes on what is generally a well balanced and thoughtful exploration of imminent de industrialisation in the face of depleting resources, chiefly petroleum I say well balanced because everything in Greer s book flows from the view that complex societies do not implode instantly from resource overstretch Historically it has tended to take several centuries at a time, to the point that it is actually impossible for any one generation o...The central thesis in Greer s book is the inevitable end of fossil fuels and the resulting decline of our current oil based economy Instead of the Age of Progress we will and have been entering The Long Descent He makes the interesting observation that we face a predicament rather than a problem to be solved a problem calls for a solution the only question is whether a solution can be found and made to work and, once this is done, the problem is solved A predicament by contras The central thesis in Greer s book is the inevitable end of fossil fuels and the resulting decline of our current oil based economy Instead of the Age of Progress we will and have been entering The Long Descent He makes the interesting observation that we face a predicament rather than a problem to be solved a problem calls for a solution the only question is whether a solution can be found and made to work and, once this is done, the problem is solved A predicament by contrast, has no solution Faced with a predicament, people come up with responses Those responses may succeed, they may fa...I think John Michael Greer is one of ourperceptive thinkers He is a deep critic of the conventional order But what I like most about his work is that he keeps his balance between being a rosy eyed optimist who thinks renewable energy and localization will be nirvana, and a pessimist who sees no hope in the future he somehow seems to steer a middle course that may not be ideal, but should be livable if we can act soon enough and with enough wisdom This book is a good example of his wri I think John Michael Greer is one of ourperceptive thinkers He is a deep critic of the conventional order But what I like most about his work is that he keeps his balance between being a rosy eyed optimist who thinks renewable energy and localization will be nirvana, and a pessimist who sees no hope in the future he somehow seems to steer a middle course that may not be ideal, but should be livable...Don t let the fact that Greer is an archdruid keep you from being blown out of the water by his cogent analysis of where we are and where we might be headed as peak oil, ecocide, and global climate disruption cause massive civilizational disturbances over the next few years ...The Long Descent makes a very valuable point that deserves wider consideration that presently there are two main narratives of the future, endless economic growth and material accumulation vs apocalyptic collapse, chaos, and die off Both are mythic stories of a sort, linked to and influenced by religious traditions Neith...An enjoyable, thoughtful, and ultimately hopeful look at the downside of M King Hubbert s peak oil curve I highly recommend this book to anyone who thinks that, in the words of peak oil pundit Richard Heinberg, the party s over I also highly recommend it to those who are still in doubt Greer makes a compelling case that our belief in technoscience as savior is just that, a belief, and that as atheists have noted for the last century or , simply believing something does not necessarily ma An enjoyable, thoughtful, and ultimately hopeful look at the downside of M King Hubbert s peak oil curve I highly recommend this book to anyone who thinks that, in the words of peak oil pundit Ri...Before reading his book, I have read many of John Michael Greer s posts on his blog Like the blog the Archdruid Report the book provides many insights about the contemporary world Unfortunately, the book for its many virtues has a number of flaws as well Although the work deserves to be read by those interested in how our culture operates, its predictions seem increasingly misplaced.Greer s major economic fallacy is his belief in a variant theory of labor valuation Many economic thinkers Before reading his book, I have read many of John Michael Greer s posts on his blog Like the blog the Archdruid Report the book provides many insights about the contemporary world Unfortunately, the book for its many virtues has a number of flaws as well Although the work deserves to be read by those interested in how our culture operates, its predictions seem increasingly misplaced.Greer s major economic fallacy is his belief in a variant theory of labor valuation Many economic thinkers perhaps foremost Marx believed that the true value of a thing comes from the labor of the person working upon it This way of understanding value competes with the Austrian theory of subjective value The Austrian approach understand a thing s value based on its apparent subjective utility to the owner A many with hundreds of pairs of sneakers values each pair less than the money he asks for them What does this have to do with Peak Oil and economic decline Everything.Mr Greer makes the mistakes o...

• English
• 12 December 2018
John Michael Greer
• Paperback
• 288 pages
• 0865716099
• John Michael Greer
• The Long Descent