| | |  | Renewable Energy | Home » » Future Scenarios: How Communities Can Adapt to Peak Oil and Climate Change | | | | | | | Description: | | In Future Scenarios, permaculture co-originator and leading sustainability innovator David Holmgren outlines four scenarios that bring to life the likely cultural, political, agricultural, and economic implications of peak oil and climate change, and the generations-long era of "energy descent" that faces us."Scenario planning," Holmgren explains, "allows us to use stories about the future as a reference point for imagining how particular strategies and structures might thrive, fail, or be transformed."Future Scenarios depicts four very different futures. Each is a permutation of mild or destructive climate change, combined with either slow or severe energy declines. Probable futures, explains Holmgren, range from the relatively benign Green Tech scenario to the near catastrophic Lifeboats scenario.As Adam Grubb, founder of the influential Energy Bulletin Web site, says, "These aren't two-dimensional nightmarish scenarios designed to scare people into environmental action. They are compellingly fleshed-out visions of quite plausible alternative futures, which delve into energy, politics, agriculture, social, and even spiritual trends. What they do help make clear are the best strategies for preparing for and adapting to these possible futures."Future Scenarios provides brilliant and balanced consideration of the world's options and will prove to be one of the most important books of the year.
| | | Product Details: | | | Author:
| David Holmgren | | Paperback:
| 136 pages | | Publisher:
| Chelsea Green Publishing | | Publication Date:
| April 14, 2009 | | Language:
| English | | ISBN:
| 1603580891 | | Product Length:
| 7.7 inches | | Product Width:
| 5.0 inches | | Product Height:
| 0.3 inches | | Product Weight:
| 0.35 pounds | | Package Length:
| 7.9 inches | | Package Width:
| 4.9 inches | | Package Height:
| 0.4 inches | | Package Weight:
| 0.4 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 5 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
21 of 21 found the following review helpful:
 Amazingly accessible book - Great Gift!Mar 18, 2010
By Kevin
Considering how David Holmgren and Bill Mollison created Permaculture, I thought I'd go ahead and order this book on Future Scenarios: How Communities Can Adapt to Peak Oil and Climate Change to understand David's thoughts on these subjects.
I was prepared for another hard-to-read book similiar to the author's previous book: Permaculture: Principles and Pathways Beyond Sustainability. I found that book extremely difficult to get through, although it was filled with many great ideas. I can't say I'd recommend that book to anyone outside the sustainability field. My recommendation for learning about Permaculture remains Introduction to Permaculture by Bill Mollison (pricey but by far the best).
When I started reading Future Scenarios, I was delighted to find that he must now either have a new editor or a ghost writer - This is an amazing book, relatively easy to read, and filled with ideas and perspectives on the future convergence of Peak Oil and Climate Change that I haven't read anywhere else.
I can easily recommend this book for all audiences, both experienced and those new to these concepts. I even gave this to my father to read as an introduction to Peak Oil. After reading this, he now wants to learn about Permaculture!
14 of 14 found the following review helpful:
 Holmgren's 'Future Scenarios' - an essential planning resourceJul 14, 2009
By Mr. C. Sanderson
I would recommend this short book to anyone who has the task of creating a workshop for a community to develop strategies to deal with the converging threats of Peak Oil and Climate Change. Or indeed for anyone, who wants to understand these issues.
It would be an ideal planning resource for a rural based intentional community and in particular one that has embraced permaculture principles.
The book is short but dense, in the sense that every sentence and diagram needs to be considered and understood.
David Holmgren explores the four scenarios that could each represent our most likely future, depending on how well and how quickly the world's political leaders deal with this greatest challenge humanity has ever faced.
This quote from the back cover explains it well: "Future Scenarios depicts four very different futures. Each is a permutation of mild or destructive climate change, combined with either slow or severe energy declines. Probable futures, explains Holmgren, range from the relatively benign 'Green Tech' scenario to the near catastrophic `Lifeboats' scenario." Future Scenarios: How Communities Can Adapt to Peak Oil and Climate Change
Encouragingly, the G8 have recently adopted the target of reducing emissions recommended by the world's climate scientists for not exceeding the critical 2ºC of average global warming ([...]). It remains to be seen whether individual countries will do the same.
7 of 10 found the following review helpful:
Packed with invaluable applications for survivalMay 17, 2009
By Midwest Book Review
FUTURE SCENARIOS: HOW COMMUNITIES CAN ADAPT TO PEAK OIL AND CLIMATE CHANGE should be in every general lending library's collection: it comes from a permaculture co-originator and sustainability innovator and shows how to adapt to the cultural, political and economic implications of two forces that will shape our world in years to come: peak oil and climate change. Packed with invaluable applications for survival, this is not to be missed.
 Basic idea for the future scenarios...BASICMar 06, 2011
By Eric
The book isn't that long and is an easy read. That's a plus. However, it seems to just re-hash the same ideas I have already read. It's not that it is bad, it's just that I already knew most of the stuff presented. It's a good starting book, but that's all. 'Collapse' is a much better book in dealing with the theories behind the oil crisis.
Excellent ideasFeb 06, 2011
By Becca T.
Gripping from the beginning, difficult to put down. Holmgren is signifigant to this movement and his ideas should be brought before the current administration.
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