Imagine an everyday world in which the price of gasoline (and oil) continues to go up, and up, and up. Think about the immediate impact that would have on our lives.
Of course, everybody already knows how about gasoline has affected our driving habits. People can't wait to junk their gas-guzzling SUVs for a new Prius. But there are more, not-so-obvious changes on the horizon that Chris Steiner tracks brilliantly in this provocative work.
Consider the following societal changes: people who own homes in far-off suburbs will soon realize that there's no longer any market for their houses (reason: nobody wants to live too far away because it's too expensive to commute to work). Telecommuting will begin to expand rapidly. Trains will become the mode of national transportation (as it used to be) as the price of flying becomes prohibitive. Families will begin to migrate southward as the price of heating northern homes in the winter is too pricey. Cheap everyday items that are comprised of plastic will go away because of the rising price to produce them (plastic is derived from oil). And this is just the beginning of a huge and overwhelming domino effect that our way of life will undergo in the years to come.
Steiner, an engineer by training before turning to journalism, sees how this simple but constant rise in oil and gas prices will totally re-structure our lifestyle. But what may be surprising to readers is that all of these changes may not be negative - but actually will usher in some new and very promising aspects of our society.
Steiner will probe how the liberation of technology and innovation, triggered by climbing gas prices, will change our lives. The book may start as an alarmist's exercise.... but don't be misled. The future will be exhilarating.
The title of this book is absurd on its face -- " ...Will Change Our Lives for the Better."
How about this for a title: How 1,000% annual inflation " ...will changes our lives for the better." That should sell some books.
Facts:
1. We have passed world peak oil production.
2. There are no renewable energy substitutes, or combination of substitutes, that can scale up in time to avoid a severe energy famine, and all that that implies.
[...]
The title is indeed catchy and the book is attention on major media. But the authors visions of the future do not seem based on a knowledge of history, sociology, economics or human psychology for that matter. This "engineer turned journalist" indulges in various fantasies without an basis in any of these disciplines. OK, in his favor, he is a writer for Forbes--the magazine which did absolutely nothing to forecast the current economic debacle, and which has consistently supported a climate of corporate greed and glut. As an example, Steiner thinks that living in an overpopulated urban center is the way of the future! When there are sever food, water, power and gas shortages, massive unemployment and rising homelessness, that is the LAST place you want to be. But I guess in Steiner's Uptopia we will all just "get along."
Gas prices will increase far beyond current rates. This much is certain.
That premise, the "inevitable rise", is the foundation of a clever, thoughtful study of our collective reliance on, and eventual separation from all things petroleum. The author does a wonderful job outlining exactly why this phenomenon is a certainty (billions of people worldwide waiting to live American style lives, higher demand, dwindling supply), and draws on myriad sources to form his own predictions for the future. Among the most compelling; the death of commercial airlines, the crumbling of suburbia, and stunning innovations in rail transport. Oh yeah, and no more Disney World. Sorry kids!
To say this book is thought provoking is an understatement, indeed. Can't wait for Steiner's next idea.
