Greer's work is nothing short of brilliant. … entertaining, illuminating, and practically informative. Not to be missed. Richard Heinberg, Senior Fellow, Post Carbon Institute, and author of Peak Everything

As peak oil reshapes the terrain of our future, John Michael Greer offers an inspiring vision of cultural evolution rooted in environmental science. Human societies are ecosystems, subject to the same rules as other living communities, and follow trajectories of change over which we have no control.

The crisis of the industrial world can be seen as the first stage in a complex and challenging transition that leads, not back to past social patterns, but forward to a new kind of human ecology -- the ecotechnic societies of the far future -- that can support relatively advanced technologies on a sustainable resource base.

The Ecotechnic Future prepares us for the long transition to the ecotechnic age by offering:

• a compelling exploration of the future taking shape ahead of us,
• a useful guide to the tools and resources needed to navigate the transition, and
• a vision of the open-ended possibilities of a world we are called upon to create.

For anyone concerned about peak oil and the future of industrial society, this book is an essential guide to the deep patterns of change wracking the world today, and a practical toolkit for building a sustainable future.

Greer brilliantly inspires us to … construct local communities which concretely exemplify [his] comprehensive vision of a post-industrial milieu. -- Carolyn Baker, author of Sacred Demise: Walking The Spiritual Path of Industrial Civilization's Collapse , and publisher/editor, Speaking Truth to Power (CarolynBaker.net)

John Michael Greer is a certified Master Conserver, organic gardener, and scholar of ecological history. He is the author of The Long Descent , and he blogs at TheArchdruidReport.blogspot.com.

John Michael Greer is a certified Master Conserver, organic gardener, a scholar of ecological history, an internationally renowned Blogger and an award-winning Peak Oil author. He lives in Ashland, Oregon.

Introduction

PART ONE - ORIENTATIONS 1. Beyond the Limits Human Ecologies Tomorrow Comes Anyway The Illusion of Independence

2. The Way of Succession Succession in Action Succession and Agriculture Succession and Technic Societies The Long Road to Sustainability

3. A Short History of the Future Glimpsing the Deindustrial Age The Depopulation Explosion Völkerwanderung Culture Death A Different Planet The World Is Round

4. Toward the Ecotechnic Age What Evolution Means The End of Affluence The Age of Scarcity Industrialism The Age of Salvage The Coming of the Ecotechnic Age

PART TWO - RESOURCES 5. Preparations Projecting the Shadow The Effects of Homeostasis The Twilight of Technology Adaptive Responses A Time For Dissensus The Mariner's Two Hands

6. Food The Next Agriculture Compost as Template In the Dark with Both Hands Pieces of the Puzzle

7. Home Tomorrow's Homes Retrofitting the Future The Household Economy The Decline and Fall of Home Economics The Specialization Trap

8. Work A Hundred Energy Slaves The Deindustrial Want Ads The Twilight of Automation Trailing-Edge Technologies

9. Energy The Innovation Fallacy The Paradox of Production Jevons' Alternative Master Conservers

10. Community Lifeboat Ecovillages Cities in the Deindustrial Future The Ecology of Social Change

11. Culture A Failure of Mimesis The Twilight of Culture Cultural Conservers Religion and the Survival of Culture

12. Science Saving Science Appropriate Ecology Toward Ecosophy

PART THREE - POSSIBILITIES 13. The Ecotechnic Promise History's Arrow History's Wheel History, Meaning and Choice The Eyes of Nature

Afterword Notes Bibliography Index About the Author