The Efficiency Trap (Paperback)

Steve Hallett

ISBN 10: 1616147253 / ISBN 13: 9781616147259

Verlag: GLOBE PEQUOT, Amherst, 2013

Beschreibung

Paperback. This is a controversial, yet realistic re-appraisal of current environmental thinking that will challenge our perception of sustainability and efficiency. One of the key tenets of the environmental movement is the need for greater efficiency in the use of our dwindling natural resources, especially coal, oil, and natural gas. If our products are designed to be more energy efficient, our environmental impacts will be reduced and fossil fuels will last longer. In this surprising new look at sustainability and conservation, environmentalist Steve Hallett argues this thinking is fatally flawed. In fact, based on the example of coal use throughout the Industrial Revolution, more efficiency leads to greater consumption and faster depletion of resources. This realistic appraisal of current environmental thinking will challenge environmentalists and industrialists alike. Yet recognising the inevitable limits of our growth and the shortcoming of current approaches is a necessary first step toward the establishment of a sound environmental policy. A re-appraisal of environmental thinking that challenge our perception of sustainability and efficiency. It recognises the inevitable limits of our growth and the shortcoming of approaches is a necessary first step toward the establishment of a sound environmental policy. Shipping may be from our Sydney, NSW warehouse or from our UK or US warehouse, depending on stock availability.

Bestandsnummer des Verkäufers 9781616147259

Bibliografische Details

• Titel: The Efficiency Trap (Paperback)
• Verlag: GLOBE PEQUOT, Amherst
• Erscheinungsjahr: 2013
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN-10: 1616147253
• ISBN-13: 9781616147259
• Einband: Paperback
• Zustand: new

Über diesen Titel

Inhaltsangabe

One of the key tenets of the environmental movement is the need for greater efficiency in our use of dwindling natural resources, especially coal, natural gas, and oil. If our products are designed to be more energy efficient, so the thinking goes, our environmental impacts will be reduced and our fossil fuels will last longer. In this surprising new look at sustainability and conservation, environmentalist Steve Hallett argues that this thinking is fundamentally flawed. In fact, based on the example of coal use throughout the Industrial Revolution, more efficiency leads to more consumption, faster depletion of resources, and ultimately more stress on the planet. This is the efficiency trap.

How do we avoid this trap? Hallett suggests that we focus on protecting natural resources, ecosystems, and social systems by making them more resilient. Knowing that we have reached limits to growth, we should work to decentralize energy-delivery services to give homes and communities some measure of independence. We can also build more sustainable food systems by diversifying the food-production landscape to address the vulnerabilities of the current supply chain.

Efficiency does have its place in specific areas such as recycling and home insulation, but it will not work as a long-term approach to our energy dilemma. Yet recognizing the inevitable limits to our growth and the shortcomings of our current approach to addressing our dwindling resources is a necessary first step toward the establishment of sound environmental policy.

This realistic appraisal of current environmental thinking will challenge environmentalists and industrialists alike.

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Steve Hallett (West Lafayette, IN) is the author (with John Wright) of Life without Oil: Why We Must Shift to a New Energy Future, as well as numerous journal articles. He is an associate professor in the Department of Botany and Plant Pathology at Purdue University.