Peak Oil, Economic Growth, and Wildlife Conservation

ISBN-13: 9781493919536 / Angielski / Twarda / 2014 / 346 str.

J. Edward Gates; David L. Trauger; Brian Czech

Opis

The proposed book focuses on one of the most important issues affecting humankind in this century -Peak Oil or the declining availability of abundant, cheap energy and its effects on our industrialized economy andwildlife conservation. Energy will be one of the defining issues of the 21st Century directly affecting wildlife conservation wherever energy extraction is a primary economic activity and indirectly through deepening economic recessions. Since cheap, abundant energy has been at the core of our industrial society, and has resulted in the technological advancements we enjoy today, the peak in world oil extraction would potentially have major impacts on civilization unless we prepare well in advance. One potential economic solution covered in the book would be a Steady State Economy with a stable population and per capita consumption, particularly in such industrialized countries as the United States. Furthermore, the lack of cheap, abundant energy directly and indirectly affects conservation efforts by professional societies and federal and state agencies, and NGOs concerned with wildlife issues. We need to recognize these potential problems and prepare, as much as possible, for the consequences stemming from them."

Spis treści

SECTION I: THE ENERGY DILEMMA.- Chapter 1. Peaking of World Oil Production.- Chapter 2. Energy Return on Investment (EROI), Liquid Fuel Production, and Consequences for Wildlife.- Chapter 3. Implications for the Economy and Environment of Alternatives to Fossil-Fuel Energy.- SECTION II: ECONOMIC CONSIDERATIONS.- Chapter 4. An Institutionalist Perspective on the Economy and Price of Oil.- Chapter 5. The Conflict between Economic Growth and Wildlife Conservation.- Chapter 6. The Steady State Economy as the Sustainable Alternative to Economic Growth.- SECTION III: FUNDAMENTAL CONFLICTS.- Chapter 7. Economic Growth and Wildlife Conservation in the North Pacific Rim, highlighting Alaska and the Russian Far East.- Chapter 8. Oil and Gas Development, the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, and Our Wildlife Heritage.- Chapter 9. Peak Oil and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.- Chapter 10. Impacts of Offshore Oil and Gas Development on Marine Wildlife Resources. Chapter 11. Alberta Oil Sands Development and Risk Management of Canadian Boreal Ecosystems. 12. Environmental and Wildlife Impacts of Oil Shale Production in the Western United States.- SECTION IV. WILDLIFE CONSERVATION AND FUTURE.- Chapter 13. Future Trends in Wildlife Conservation and Management Programs.- Chapter 14. Response of Professional Societies and Conservation Organizations to Peak Oil and Economic Growth.- Chapter 15. Envisioning an Alternative Future.

Blurb

Today, there are numerous books available on the subject of Peak Oil; however, most, if not all, address the consequences of peaking on our industrialized society and how we might adapt.  There also are several excellent books available dealing with economic growth.  Books on wildlife conservation are also commonplace.  However, no book currently integrates the topics of Peak Oil, economic growth, and wildlife conservation into one narrative.  This book attempts to do just that.  The book is divided into four sections, respectively titled The Energy Dilemma, Economic Considerations, Fundamental Conflicts, and Wildlife Conservation and the Future.  Each succeeding section builds on those that come before it.  Readers of this book will gain a deeper understanding of the vital linkages between energy, economic growth, and the conservation of natural landscapes and native species.

This book is written for a broad audience, including natural resources professionals, planners, and policy-makers in federal, state, and provincial governments.  Leaders of conservation and environmental organizations will value its clarion call for action to stem further losses of biodiversity (including genetic diversity) and advance its conservation. Professors teaching university courses in wildlife ecology and management, conservation biology, and ecological economics will find this volume to be an indispensable course book for their students. Others will use it as a primary reference for seminars dealing with sustainability.  Persons interested in Peak Oil and energy depletion will learn how these issues impinge on wildlife conservation.  Those interested in alternatives to a growth economy will find the discussion of a steady state economy enlightening, given that lack of cheap, abundant energy may force us in that direction anyway.  It is our hope that readers of this book will act on the information contained in it to effect positive change in how our global civilization interacts with the biosphere and humanity’s co-inhabitants—the millions of species composing Earth’s biodiversity.