Peak everything: Rant or Reality Check?

Source: Richard Heinberg's  book- Peak Everything: Waking Up to the Century of Declines.

... encountering Peak Oil, most people tend to assume it is merely a single isolated problem to which there is a simple solution - whether of an eco-friendly nature (more renewable energy) or otherwise (more coal). But the viability of such "solutions"is questionable; meanwhile, as one contemplates how we humans have so quickly become so deeply dependent on the cheap, concentrated energy of oil and other fossil fuels, it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that we have caught ourselves on the horns of the Universal Ecological Dilemma ... population pressure, resource depletion, and habitat destruction - and on a scale unprecedented in history.

Petroleum is not the only important resource quickly depleting. ... regional production peaks for natural gas have already occurred  ... the economic consequences of gas shortages are worse for Europeans and North Americans than those for oil. And while coal is often referred to as being an abundant fossil fuel ...a recent study updating global reserves and production forecasts concludes that global coal production will peak and begin to decline in ten to twenty years ... fossil fuels supply about 85 percent of the world's total energy, peaks in these fuels virtually ensure that the world's energy supply will begin to shrink within a few years regardless of any efforts that are made to develop other energy sources.

Once one lifts one's eyes from the narrow path of daily survival activities and starts scanning the horizon, a frightening array of peaks comes into view ..... convinced of the reality and seriousness of climate change, peak oil, or any other specific problem. ... entails an emotional, cultural, and political catharsis. The biblical metaphor of scales falling from one's eyes is ... waking up implies coming to the realization that the very fabric of modern life is woven from illusion....the reality of cars, television, and fast food is calmly taken for granted; if life has been like this for decades, why shouldn't it continue, with incremental developmental changes, indefinitely?  ... because current reality is built on cheap fossil fuels means that future generations must and will live differently.

The great transition of the 21st century will entail enormous adjustments on the part of every individual, family and community, and if those adjustments are to be made successfully, rational planning will be needed. Implications and strategies will have to be explored in nearly every area of human interest - agriculture, transportation, global war and peace, public health, resource management ... global transition from industrial growth to contraction and sustainability.