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The Ecotechnic Future: Envisioning a Post-Peak World Paperback – October 1, 2009

4.4 out of 5 stars 52

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How to survive and thrive in the post-industrial age

In response to the coming impact of peak oil, John Michael Greer helps us envision the transition from an industrial society to a sustainable ecotechnic world-not returning to the past, but creating a society that supports relatively advanced technology on a sustainable resource base.

Fusing human ecology and history, this book challenges assumptions held by mainstream and alternative thinkers about the evolution of human societies. Human societies, like ecosystems, evolve in complex and unpredictable ways, making it futile to try to impose rigid ideological forms on the patterns of evolutionary change. Instead, social change must explore many pathways over which we have no control. The troubling and exhilarating prospect of an open-ended future, he proposes, requires dissensus-a deliberate acceptance of radical diversity that widens the range of potential approaches to infinity. 

Written in three parts, the book places the present crisis of the industrial world in its historical and ecological context in part one; part two explores the toolkit for Ecotechnic Age, and part three opens a door to the complexity of future visions.

For anyone concerned about peak oil and the future of the industrial society, this book provides a solid analysis of how we got to where we are, and a practical toolkit to prepare for the future.


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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Greer's work is nothing short of brilliant. He has the multidisciplinary smarts to deeply understand our human dilemma as we stand on the verge of the inevitable collapse of industrialism. And he wields uncommon writing skills, making his diagnosis and prescription entertaining, illuminating, and practically informative. Not to be missed."
Richard Heinberg, Senior Fellow, Post Carbon Institute and author of
Peak Everything

"There is a great deal of conventional wisdom about our collective ecological crisis out there in books. The enormous virtue of John Michael Greer's work is that his wisdom is never conventional, but profound and imaginative. There's no one who makes me think harder, and The Ecotechnic Future pushes Greer's vision, and our thought processes in important directions."
Sharon Astyk, farmer, blogger (SharonAstyk.com) and author of
Depletion and Abundance and A Nation of Farmers

"In The Ecotechnic Future, John Michael Greer dispels our fantasies of a tidy, controlled transition from industrial society to a post-industrial milieu. The process will be ragged and rugged and will not invariably constitute an evolutionary leap for the human species. It will, however, offer myriad opportunities to create a society that bolsters complex technology which at the same time, maintains a sustainable interaction with the ecosystem. Greer brilliantly inspires us to integrate the two in our thinking and to construct local communities which concretely exemplify this comprehensive vision."
Carolyn Baker, author of
Sacred Demise: Walking The Spiritual Path of Industrial Civilization's Collapse and publisher/editor, Speaking Truth to Power (CarolynBaker.net )

Review

"Greer's work is nothing short of brilliant. He has the multidisciplinary smarts to deeply understand our human dilemma as we stand on the verge of the inevitable collapse of industrialism. And he wields uncommon writing skills, making his diagnosis and prescription entertaining, illuminating, and practically informative. Not to be missed."
Richard Heinberg, Senior Fellow, Post Carbon Institute and author of
Peak Everything

"There is a great deal of conventional wisdom about our collective ecological crisis out there in books. The enormous virtue of John Michael Greer's work is that his wisdom is never conventional, but profound and imaginative. There's no one who makes me think harder, and The Ecotechnic Future pushes Greer's vision, and our thought processes in important directions."
Sharon Astyk, farmer, blogger (SharonAstyk.com) and author of
Depletion and Abundance and A Nation of Farmers

"In The Ecotechnic Future, John Michael Greer dispels our fantasies of a tidy, controlled transition from industrial society to a post-industrial milieu. The process will be ragged and rugged and will not invariably constitute an evolutionary leap for the human species. It will, however, offer myriad opportunities to create a society that bolsters complex technology which at the same time, maintains a sustainable interaction with the ecosystem. Greer brilliantly inspires us to integrate the two in our thinking and to construct local communities which concretely exemplify this comprehensive vision."
Carolyn Baker, author of
Sacred Demise: Walking The Spiritual Path of Industrial Civilization's Collapse and publisher/editor, Speaking Truth to Power (CarolynBaker.net )

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ New Society Publishers; First Edition (October 1, 2009)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0865716390
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0865716391
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.03 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.58 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 out of 5 stars 52

About the author

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John Michael Greer
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Born in the gritty Navy town of Bremerton, Washington and raised in the south Seattle suburbs, I began writing about as soon as I could hold a pencil. SF editor George Scithers' dictum that all would-be writers have a million words of so of bad prose in them, and have to write it out, pretty much sums up the couple of decades between my first serious attempt to write a book and my first published book, "Paths of Wisdom", which appeared in 1996. These days I live in Cumberland, Maryland with my spouse Sara; serve as presiding officer -- Grand Archdruid is the official title -- of the Ancient Order of Druids in America (AODA), a Druid order founded in 1912; and write in half a dozen nonfiction fields, nearly all of them focused on the revival of forgotten ideas, insights, and traditions of practice from the rubbish heap of history.

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
52 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Reviewed in the United States on August 10, 2012
Let me put it this way: If Greer is correct in his predictions then the Ecotechnic Future is one of the most important books now occupying shelf space in any library. And, if he's wrong, at least you spent a few hours enjoying a thought-provoking read.

What I like about this book is that Greer shows an unusually large amount of humility and restraint for a futurist. Rather than paint a dramatic and detailed picture of America's future, he has the maturity to make some broad guesses while acknowledging the details are currently unknowable (and largely irrelevant).

Greer is at his best when reminding us that humans get no exemptions from ecological law, and he uses Nature as a great source for metaphors for the current human condition. An articulate writer with encyclopedic knowledge, Greer takes us on a compelling jaunt through a decidedly downbeat future. Weirdly, it was enjoyable.

I've bought copies of this book for two of my friends. The ultimate vote.
4 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on January 7, 2011
As a regular reader of JMG I am not at all disappointed by his fleshing out of his blog posts in this book. Here he writes as beautifully as ever to develop his view of human history unfolding in the wake of the challenges posed to it by hitting all the various limits to growth forecast with such accuracy back with the first Club of Rome reports. I have only read it once so far and my copy is positively bristling with markers indicating where I intend to read it again. My initial take out is a new and hopeful vision of present day humans as very primitive users of technology with barely a glimmer of an understanding yet of how to use that technology with any kind of ecological or human consciousness. Truly not much smarter than yeast nor those Easter Islanders yet, but we just might get better if we can just learn from the hard and horrible lessons more immediately ahead.
5 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on December 19, 2009
This book is a welcome leap forward past the earlier works of Richard Heinberg (The Party's Over), James Kunstler (The Long Emergency), Jared Diamond (Collapse) and others. The most important aspect of Mr. Greer's work is that it uses a language that enables further discussion of the post-peak future. Rather than pummeling us senseless with statistics proving the validity of the peak oil hypothesis, he moves forward well past that. Instead he connects the dots between peak-oil, global warming, the future of food, economics, energy, employment, and culture. Using general terms, he wisely avoids being prescriptive about how we might respond to the challenges facing us. The variables are too numerous and fluid to attempt prescriptive solutions. This book is a 'must-read' if you're anxious to move past the body of literature that warns us of impending crisis. It could well become an enduring standard.
47 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on January 1, 2011
John Greer makes for a compelling case for a future dramatically different from what most experts project. For example, projections are widely made that the world population will reach 9 Billion by 2050. Even elementary students know that this is not possible. Cheap fossil fuels acquired from organic matter decaying over the past 500 million years and mostly burned up in the last 100 years have made our exploding growth possible. Cheap food and goods are made from this legacy of cheap energy that is about to be used up. The party is over and Mr. Greer makes some sensible analysis of how we can prepare for the real future to come. This book is the equivalent of Alvin Toffler's "Future Shock" for our time. A must read and good content for group discussions.
One person found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on December 16, 2009
Always interested in what Greer has to say. Sometimes I think he's looking too far into the future, when we need more insight into the next couple of decades of transition. I know he feels he covered that in his previous book, but since most of us won't be around centuries from now, his hopeful look at the slow transition to a more earth friendly economy is welcome, but some of the steps need to be elaborated on a little more. Still a great read.
4 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on March 5, 2014
It gives a trustable view of the future, based on comparisons with similar situations mankind has passed in the whole history.
Reviewed in the United States on December 23, 2009
Amazon should not use the USPS because it is sloppy about delivering. Everything that was sent by UPS or FedEx arrived but the USPS packages are stuffed into mailboxes and stolen.
Furthermore, there is absolutely no way to communicate with Amazon about this situation. No customer service anywhere. I will not buy from Amazon again unless they respond to this in someway.
I am rating this book a five because I know that it will be when I order it from my local bookstore.
One person found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on January 23, 2016
When I first began reading about the post peak oil predicament, this was the first book that gave me a sense of hope through the turmoil. Squarely located between denial and total doom, this book is a clear-eyed appraisal of where things are most likely headed. The author, John Michael Greer, is a writer of unmatched clarity and skill. My deepest wish is that more people would read this book.
One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Phillip C
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, but also a great introduction to the ...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 15, 2015
Great book, but also a great introduction to the world of the Arch Druid - Mr. Greer. A must for anyone who is concerned about the world we leave to our children.
Viva_Viv
4.0 out of 5 stars My favourite "doomer" book
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 3, 2017
His description of likely scenarios of descent of global industrial culture seem a lot more realistic than many 'doomer' scenarios of quick, total collapse which seem really naive based on what we know about how nations work. This is a great intro to potential issues approaching us in the future, and the different stages that we are likely to pass through. He imagines a long, slow descent, where societies make attampts to get by with what's available. Even in a large economic collapse, there will still be lots of infrastucture and resources available, it will take time as things shift, we aren't going to suddenly be living in the middle ages. In a weird way it's actually kinda hopeful compared to a lot of his contemporaries discussing the dark times ahead - a lot is going to be bad for a lot of people, but humans are clever and adaptable and hopefully by planning ahead for what skills will be most useful in a transitioning world we can make the most of it and help others to do the same.
Mrs. V. M. Campbell
5.0 out of 5 stars and think he really liked it.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 27, 2015
Purchaaed this book for my Son-in Law for Xmas. very quick delivery, and think he really liked it.