The Party's Over: Oil, War, and the Fate of Industrial Societies
Encyclopedia
The Party’s Over: Oil, War and the Fate of Industrial Societies, by Richard Heinberg
(Gabriola Island, British Columbia: New Society Publishers, 2003; ISBN 0-86571-482-7), is an introduction to the concept of peak oil
and petroleum depletion.
The book's main points are that modern industrial societies are completely dependent on fossil fuels, they are vulnerable to reductions in energy availability, fossil fuel depletion is inevitable, peak oil is imminent, and that oil plays a major role in US foreign policy, terrorism
, war and geopolitics
.
The book rapidly surveys some basic ecological
and thermodynamical
concepts, which are then briefly applied to Western history. Means by which humans capture more energy and thereby raise their carrying capacity
such as takeover, tool use, scope enlargement and drawdown are also introduced. The preceding strategies are adapted from William Catton
's Overshoot: The Ecological Basis of Revolutionary Change. Colonialism
and slavery
are then viewed using the lens of energy capture and usage. Heinberg also relies upon work done by Joseph Tainter
and his 1988 book, The Collapse of Complex Societies. Tainter's main thesis being that complex societies collapse because "their strategies for energy capture are subject to the law of diminishing returns."
It then reviews the essential role of fossil fuels in the history of industrial civilization
and capitalism
and then discusses why many geologists and energy researches believe that global oil production is on the verge of peaking. Alternative energy
sources are then discussed to see if they can make up for the energetic shortfall resulting from less available energy from fossil fuels, his tongue in cheek question being: “Can the party continue?” Heinberg is not optimistic that it will, and in a sobering wrapup reviews “a banquet of consequences” of the end of cheap energy
. He ends the book by offering practical advice to readers about how to respond to the end of the era of cheap oil.
Three petroleum geologists
assisted Heinberg, ASPO
founder, Colin Campbell
, Jean Laherrere
, and Walter Youngquist. Colin Campbell also contributed the foreword to the book and Heinberg quotes from his research in the book. In addition, he quotes from the work of (and gives appreciation to) Michael C. Lynch, Bjørn Lomborg
, and Richard Duncan.
Richard Heinberg
Richard Heinberg is an American journalist and educator who has written extensively on energy, economic, and ecological issues, including oil depletion. He is the author of ten books...
(Gabriola Island, British Columbia: New Society Publishers, 2003; ISBN 0-86571-482-7), is an introduction to the concept of peak oil
Peak oil
Peak oil is the point in time when the maximum rate of global petroleum extraction is reached, after which the rate of production enters terminal decline. This concept is based on the observed production rates of individual oil wells, projected reserves and the combined production rate of a field...
and petroleum depletion.
The book's main points are that modern industrial societies are completely dependent on fossil fuels, they are vulnerable to reductions in energy availability, fossil fuel depletion is inevitable, peak oil is imminent, and that oil plays a major role in US foreign policy, terrorism
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
, war and geopolitics
Geopolitics
Geopolitics, from Greek Γη and Πολιτική in broad terms, is a theory that describes the relation between politics and territory whether on local or international scale....
.
The book rapidly surveys some basic ecological
Ecology
Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...
and thermodynamical
Thermodynamics
Thermodynamics is a physical science that studies the effects on material bodies, and on radiation in regions of space, of transfer of heat and of work done on or by the bodies or radiation...
concepts, which are then briefly applied to Western history. Means by which humans capture more energy and thereby raise their carrying capacity
Carrying capacity
The carrying capacity of a biological species in an environment is the maximum population size of the species that the environment can sustain indefinitely, given the food, habitat, water and other necessities available in the environment...
such as takeover, tool use, scope enlargement and drawdown are also introduced. The preceding strategies are adapted from William Catton
William R. Catton, Jr.
William R. Catton, Jr. is an American sociologist best known for his scholarly work inenvironmental sociology and human ecology. His intellectual approach is broad and interdisciplinary. Catton's repute extends beyond academic social science due primarily to his 1980 book, . Catton has written...
's Overshoot: The Ecological Basis of Revolutionary Change. Colonialism
Colonialism
Colonialism is the establishment, maintenance, acquisition and expansion of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. It is a process whereby the metropole claims sovereignty over the colony and the social structure, government, and economics of the colony are changed by...
and slavery
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
are then viewed using the lens of energy capture and usage. Heinberg also relies upon work done by Joseph Tainter
Joseph Tainter
Joseph A. Tainter is a U.S. anthropologist and historian.Tainter studied anthropology at the University of California and Northwestern University, where he received his Ph.D. in 1975. He is currently a professor in the Department of Environment and Society at Utah State University...
and his 1988 book, The Collapse of Complex Societies. Tainter's main thesis being that complex societies collapse because "their strategies for energy capture are subject to the law of diminishing returns."
It then reviews the essential role of fossil fuels in the history of industrial civilization
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
and capitalism
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
and then discusses why many geologists and energy researches believe that global oil production is on the verge of peaking. Alternative energy
Alternative energy
Alternative energy is an umbrella term that refers to any source of usable energy intended to replace fuel sources without the undesired consequences of the replaced fuels....
sources are then discussed to see if they can make up for the energetic shortfall resulting from less available energy from fossil fuels, his tongue in cheek question being: “Can the party continue?” Heinberg is not optimistic that it will, and in a sobering wrapup reviews “a banquet of consequences” of the end of cheap energy
Energy
In physics, energy is an indirectly observed quantity. It is often understood as the ability a physical system has to do work on other physical systems...
. He ends the book by offering practical advice to readers about how to respond to the end of the era of cheap oil.
Three petroleum geologists
Petroleum geology
Petroleum geology refers to the specific set of geological disciplines that are applied to the search for hydrocarbons .-Sedimentary basin analysis:...
assisted Heinberg, ASPO
Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas
The Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas, or ASPO, is a network of scientists, affiliated with a wide array of global institutions and universities, whose goal is to attempt to determine the date and impact of the peak and decline of the world’s production of oil and gas, due to resource...
founder, Colin Campbell
Colin Campbell (geologist)
Colin J. Campbell, PhD Oxford, is a retired British petroleum geologist who predicted that oil production would peak by 2007. The consequences of this are uncertain but drastic, due to the world's dependency on fossil fuels for the vast majority of its energy...
, Jean Laherrere
Jean Laherrère
Jean H. Laherrère is a petroleum engineer and consultant, best known as the co-author of an influential 1998 Scientific American article entitled . Laherrère worked for 37 years with Total S.A., a French petroleum company. His work on seismic refraction surveys contributed to the discovery of...
, and Walter Youngquist. Colin Campbell also contributed the foreword to the book and Heinberg quotes from his research in the book. In addition, he quotes from the work of (and gives appreciation to) Michael C. Lynch, Bjørn Lomborg
Bjørn Lomborg
Bjørn Lomborg is a Danish author, academic, and environmental writer. He is an adjunct professor at the Copenhagen Business School, director of the Copenhagen Consensus Centre and a former director of the Environmental Assessment Institute in Copenhagen...
, and Richard Duncan.