Environment in The Books Store

Library Journal This book goes further than any of the other titles considered here, both in terms of the deep societal ills it examines and the radical solutions it proposes. It is not just peak oil, but peak America Murphy takes as his subject. His plan is based on "curtailment" - we must not only make drastic cuts in our use of fossil fuels, but also cut our rates of consumption, buy less, use less, want less, waste less, watch less televsion, eat better foods, give up driving private cars, and become, in short, "a nation with new values." Murphy's work is perhaps easy to dismiss - i.e. fringe, hairshirted- but if, as the best scientific evidence suggests, the world is already in a dangerous state of overshoot, then its message may not be that far out after all. Reviewed by Robert Eagan

Canadian Moneysaver Plan C is an indispensable resource for anyone interested in living a lower energy, saner, more sustainable lifestyle. If you accept the plethora of research supporting energy depletion (oil, gas and coal) and climate change globally, you must read this book. Written without big business or a political bias, this objective author provides the framework for future development. Shrewd investors beware. Reviewed by Dale Ennis

Concerns over climate change and energy depletion are increasing exponentially. Mainstream solutions still assume a panacea that will cure our climate ills without requiring any serious modification to our way of life.

Plan C explores the risks inherent in trying to continue our energy-intensive lifestyle. Using dirtier fossil fuels (Plan A) or switching to renewable energy sources (Plan B) allows people to remain complacent in the face of potential global catastrophe. Dramatic lifestyle change is the only way to begin to create a sustainable, equitable world. The converging crises of Peak Oil, climate change, and increasing inequity are presented in a clear, concise manner, as are the twin solutions of community (where cooperation replaces competition) and curtailment (deliberately reducing consumption of consumer goods). Plan C shows how each person’s individual choices can dramatically reduce CO2 emissions. It offers specific strategies in the areas of food, transportation, and housing. One chapter analyzes the decimation of the Cuban economy when the USSR stopped oil exports in 1990 and provides an inspiring vision for a low-energy way of living.

Plan C is an indispensable resource for anyone interested in living a lower-energy, saner, and more sustainable lifestyle.

Pat Murphy is the executive director of The Community Solution. He co-wrote and co-produced the award-winning documentary The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil, has initiated four major Peak Oil conferences, and has given numerous presentations and workshops on the subject. He has extensive construction experience and developed low-energy buildings during the nation’s first oil crisis.

They are stories of the dead and the living, stories of survivors and believers, stories of hope and despair. And stories about refrigerators.