Is this the end of the world as we know it? Will the winding down of fossil-fuel consumption lead to radical changes in our lives? Or can we turn away from the climate crisis cliff while the industrial economy just keeps growing?
Renewable energy sources have powered civilizations for nearly all of history and must do so again. But usable energy will become a more precious resource, as it was before our brief, explosive binge on the most easily accessible fossil fuels. In coming years we will have to recognize when "enough is enough." Sufficiency, not growth, needs to be the focus of the new economy.
The authors discuss changes in food production and distribution, urbanization and rural revitalization, cargo transportation, energy generation, law, and education. They show how many aspects of contemporary technology, plus lessons from our long history, can help us in the "sufficient economy" of the future.
Renewable energies will not save our always-on, constantly growing, high-energy economy. But if we share the wealth to produce what we really need, renewable energies can power a sustainable civilization.