The End of Fossil Energy: And a Plan for Sustainability

By John G. Howe

Retired engineer John Howe is getting acquainted with his 10 hp solar powered Farmall Cub Book jacket. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0974340405
• ISBN13: 9780974340401
• Release Date: September 2004
• Publisher: McIntire Publishing
• Length: 115 Pages
• Weight: 0.10 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Last Chance

I can't say enough good things about this fun and well written little book! It's interesting to read and it's maybe one of the best jumping off points about "peal oil" because it gives the reader so much information writtern for the layman. It list all of the other books and the websites to go to. You have to be interested and concerned about energy to read this book. It's one of the greatest starting point. Regards, Keith Renick, Project Materials Specialist, Project Management Team, Riyadh Refinery, Saudi Aramco, Retired

Best introduction to the Peak Oil problem

The point at which our global annual production of oil reaches the highest level it will ever reach may have already passed and will be followed by an inexorable decline. That point is called "peak oil". If you think about how much of our current civilization's function depends on a regular supply of inexpensive, concentrated energy you can imagine the disruptive effect of even a reduction in the rate of growth of our oil supply - never mind a plateau or an absolute decline in the daily production. Increasing demand for a stable or declining supply means unending price increases and shortages. How should we approach a problem of this magnitude? Mr. Howe has done a very impressive job of compiling all of the important elements of the Peak Oil phenomenon and gets to the point quickly of proposing practical measures to ease our transition to the "post fossil fuel world". This is the book to start with in your education on this topic.

Everything you need to know, concise and understandable

This is the first book I've read about the limited supply of fossil energy, and I believe I came away with a clear picture of the situation: we need to develop and build alternatives WELL before we run out of the oil needed to melt the metal to manufacture solar panels and wind generator blades (for example). Completely understandable, with numerous references, this is also the *best* book I've read. I have followed up with a few more, and intend to keep reading. I hope to do more than read soon; the book really calls for action. It should be noted that there is now a second printing of this book with a slightly different title (... A LAST CHANCE for sustainability), and an excellent chapter listing how far *before* or *after* peak production each country is. Not surprisingly, Iraq is the only country I noticed listed as "way before peak"!