Fleeing Vesuvius: Overcoming the Risks of Economic and Environmental Collapse [Paperback]

Gillian Fallon (Editor), Richard Douthwaite (Editor), Richard Heinberg (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 5, 2011

Preparing for a future of economic contraction.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Fleeing Vesuvius is a book of our time [...] This is a must-read for concerned citizens of all stripes around the world." Juno --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Richard Douthwaite is an economist and writer with a special interest in climate and energy issues and in local economic development. His best-known book, The Growth Illusion: How Economic Growth Enriched the Few, Impoverished the Many and Endangered the Planet explores the effects that the pursuit of growth has had on the environment and society. He is a co-founder of Feasta, the Foundation for the Economics of Sustainability, the Dublin-based international network of people who believe that the world's sustainability problems are due to the use of dysfunctional systems and are trying to develop better ones. His current projects include the design and introduction of novel financing arrangements for community energy projects and the management of the Carbon Cycles and Sinks Network which explores ways in which land-based greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced. He lives in Westport, Co. Mayo. Gillian Fallon studied French and Psychology at university before going to work as a cook, eventually opening a restaurant with a friend. She then re-trained in publishing and has worked as a writer, journalist and editor for 15 years, most recently in academic publishing. She has a particular interest in food security and in the challenges involved in communicating the many complex messages derived from systems thinking to a non-specialist audience. She has been a member of Feasta's Executive Committee since 2006 and currently divides her time between Dublin and Co. Kerry. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: New Society Publishers (April 5, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0865716994
• ISBN-13: 978-0865716995
• Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 1.3 x 9.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #970,473 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Counter Shock Doctrine March 25, 2011

By Gregory

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

The father of neo-liberalism and laissez-faire economics , Milton Friedman , said that " Only a crisis- real or perceived- produces real change. Our basic function is to develop alternatives to existing policies, to keep them alive and available until the politically impossible becomes politically inevitable."

As we stand today facing an angry planet comes this important book laying out a road map of hope for humanity and describing the hard work ahead. The book includes the necessary alternatives in economics, energy and most importantly human behavior that could make possible a soft landing from our current energy and resource crisis.

Unlike the recent post-disaster policies imposed by force in the US and around the globe, so well described by Naomi Klein in Shock Doctrine, the policies advanced here by the authors are developed in the open and will benefit all people and not just a privileged minority. The wider the audience for these ideas the greater our chances of collective survival.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars For those who want more... August 25, 2011

By Karen

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is not a primer for beginners to the subject of Peak Oil. It is for folks who have absorbed the basics and are looking for more in depth thinking on all the different aspects of powerdown. The articles vary widely. There is something for everyone but not for the beginner.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential Reading for the 21st Century May 25, 2011

By Stephen Kriz

Format:Paperback

This collection of essays is informative and enlightening, and at the same time, shocking and uplifting. The title alludes to the fact that the residents of Pompeii had heard rumblings and tremors long before Mount Vesuvius erupted but most people ignored them before the catastophic event that buried the city. Similarly, many people today think we can go on forever burning oil and coal-based fuels (i.e. fossil fuels) and everything will be fine. We can't and it won't. Oil is a finite, dirty resource and our society and economy is utterly dependent on it to exist. As oil runs out, as it surely will in the next 50 years, our economy will collapse as well. However, these essays aren't all gloom and doom. There are refreshingly innovative methods of building and sustaining a non-carbon-based society described in this book. I'm sure there will be naysayers who will read this and say its all bunk, but the facts are not on their side. Anyone who wants to see what the future looks like unless we radically change our mindsets and lifestyles should read this book.