Once you've read some of the things cited on this page, you may get the idea that there's not much hope for us. The truth is, if we keep on going the way we've been going, there isn't much.
However, the future doesn't have to be all bad. Whether or not the government or the corporations do anything to give us a better future, we are still in control of our futures. The page of Books about Transition is there to show you that we can create a happy future for ourselves, cheap oil or not. By reading this site, and then deciding to make your yard an edible yard, you have become part of the solution.
Congratulations and welcome!
We'll start with some less optimistic books:
The Party's Over: Oil, War and the Fate of Industrial Societies
by Richard Heinberg
This book clearly sets down the situation with regard to our
society's addiction to cheap oil and where the way we're living
now is likely to take us.
Powerdown: Options and Actions for a Post-Carbon World
by Richard Heinberg
This book is about how we can gently and gracefully "power down"
from our oil addiction, and land in a sustainable place, one
that doesn't depend on massive amounts of cheap oil.
The Long Emergency: Surviving the End of Oil, Climate
Change, and Other Converging Catastrophes of the
Twenty-First Century
by James Howard Kunstler
This book expands from just considering "peak oil" to include
climate change, a decreasing water supply, and the degrading
health of the general population to paint a larger picture
of the problems facing us.
Down to the Wire: Confronting Climate Collapse
by David W. Orr
From the publisher's description:
"Orr describes how political negligence, an economy based on
the insatiable consumption of trivial goods, and a disdain
for the well-being of future generations have brought us to
the tipping point that biologist Edward O. Wilson calls
'the bottleneck.'
Due to our refusal to live within natural limits, we now face
a long emergency of rising temperatures, rising sea-levels,
and a host of other related problems that will increasingly
undermine human civilization."
World Made by Hand
by James Howard Kunstler
This novel describes a town in the powered-down future.
It paints a grim picture of what we could be facing, but
it also shows a resilience in the people that could point
the way for us to make it through the coming crisis.
And, for a change of pace, some positive books:
$20 Per Gallon: How the Inevitable Rise in the Price of
Gasoline Will Change Our Lives for the Better
by Christopher Steiner
This book is organized by chapters, one for each $2 rise in the
proce of gasoline from Chapter $4 to Chapter $20.
Its message is that each of these stages will bring about some
fundamental changes in our society, each bringing some challenges
and hardship, but each also bringing some positive effects for
all of us.
An example - more expensive gas means fewer SUVs on the road,
which means fewer auto fatalities caused by them (especially
in the smaller vehicles they run into).
It's also a wealth of references; for example, ask your favorite
search engine about the Tata "Nano" and the Better Place
corporation.
Sacred Demise: Walking the Spiritual Path of Industrial
Civilization's Collapse
by Carolyn Baker
From the publisher's description:
"The collapse of industrial civilization is rapidly unfolding
and offers us an opportunity far beyond mere survival, even
as it renders absurd any attempts to "fix" or prevent the
end of the world as we have known it. Sacred Demise is about
the transformation of human consciousness and the emergence
of a new paradigm as a result discovering our purpose in the
collapse process, thereby coming home to our ultimate place
in the universe. Our willingness to consciously embark on the
journey with openness and uncertainty may be advantageous for
engendering a quantum evolutionary leap for our species and
for the earth community."
The Great Turning: From Empire to Earth Community
by David Korten
"Korten draws on evidence from sources as varied as
evolutionary theory, developmental psychology, and
religious teachings to make the case that "Earth
Community" - a life-centered, egalitarian, sustainable
way of ordering human society based on democratic
principles of partnership - is indeed possible and
within the scope of human choice. He details a
practical strategy for advancing a turning toward a
future of as-yet-unrealized human potential."