Depletion And Abundance: Life On The New Home Front (2008) - Plot & Excerpts
Excellent. This is the book to read after you've read all the horrifying books about peak oil, climate change, and economic collapse, and have started to panic. Instead of promoting a survivalist lifestyle, with a bunker full of 20 years worth of MREs, Astyk offers suggestions on how to gently navigate the transition to a world that can no longer depend on fossil fuels, from the perspective of someone who is - mostly - already living a low energy life. This book brings together many ideas from the permaculture and transition communities, with both baby starter steps and more intense projects for those who are interested in beginning the shift to sustainability before they have no choice. I especially liked her thoughts on families spending a great deal of time together.She does assume the reader is already familiar with peak oil and climate change, so this is a great follow-up read to Kunstler's The Long Emergency or Richard Heinberg's books. While I may not totally agree with Ms. Astyk's timeline, I certainly agree with the majority of her points about where we are headed and what needs to be done to get out of it or deal with it ourselves. This book is definitely more pessimistic than her book "Independence Days", which I enjoyed a bit more. Depletion and Abundance is, if I could some up, more about the importance of community building than strictly about preparedness in the more survivalist sort of sense. Well worth reading, although I would recommend "Independence Days" more, particularly if you are interested in practical solutions.
What do You think about Depletion And Abundance: Life On The New Home Front (2008)?
Superb!!!! The very best book that I have read on this subject.
—KyDawn
Everyone with children should read this book.
—Eromist
