A Vision For The End Of Oil

Critical of the current proposals for alternative energy, James Howard Kunstler provides a "wake up call" for citizens, and provides a glimpse at life after the world makes its inevitable transition to a post-oil society.

1 minute read

January 30, 2007, 1:00 PM PST

By Christian Madera @http://www.twitter.com/cpmadera


"There is no question that we are in trouble with oil. The natural gas situation is comparably ominous...What's more, the problems of climate change are amplifying, ramifying, and mutually reinforcing the problems associated with rapidly vanishing oil and gas reserves."

"Still, the widespread wish persists that some combination of alternative fuels will rescue us from this oil and gas predicament and allow us to continue enjoying by some other means what Vice-President Cheney has called the "non-negotiable" American way of life. The truth is that no combination of alternative fuels or systems for using them will allow us to continue running America, or even a substantial fraction of it, the way we have been."

"The key to understanding the challenge we face is admitting that we have to comprehensively make other arrangements for all the normal activities of everyday life."

"In general, the circumstances we face with energy and climate change will require us to live much more locally, probably profoundly and intensely so."

Tuesday, January 23, 2007 in Orion Magazine

Young Professional

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban and Environmental Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban and Environmental Planner

Get top-rated, practical training for planners

"Planetizen federal action tracker" logo superimposed over black and white image of US Capitol dome.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

September 30, 2026 - Zachary Whalen

An Airo train driving towards the camera on a track. There is a forest behind it.

Northwest rail fans eager for Sept. 30 debut of Amtrak’s Airo fleet

Get ready for that new train smell and more seats. But they won’t go faster or run more frequently on the Cascades route in Washington and Oregon.

September 22, 2026 - Washington State Standard

The largest wildlife overpass in North America stretching over the I-25. Both sides of the overpass, and the overpass itself, are covered in brown grass.

Record-breaking wildlife overpass in Colorado brings 91% reduction in animal collisions

Prior to the overpass, vehicles were hitting one deer per day on Colorado’s Interstate 25.

September 28, 2026 - CBS Colorado

A rendering of the waterfront development, which shows a lit-up stage by the waterfront and people walking about.

Detroit to transform waterfront with $2.2 billion investment

Developers will convert about 18 acres of unused parking lot space into civic spaces.

October 2 - ABC 7

The mayor of Baltimore speaks into a microphone in front of a rally for more state transportation funding from Maryland.

‘Going backwards:’ Baltimore mayor, students rally against state's transit funding plan

Maryland's proposed six-year plan provides no funding for Baltimore’s BMORE bus program and reduces its road maintenance funding.

October 2 - Baltimore Sun

A view from below the HUD. The building is gray with a grid of windows.

Trump wants to cancel nearly 98% of funding for HUD housing support program

Multiple housing groups are suing the administration in an effort to preserve the funding.

October 2 - The Washington Sun

FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?

After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.

Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold

The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.

Senior Planner

City of Thousand Oaks

Community Development Director

City of Wisconsin Rapids

Professor of Urban Planning

Harvard University Graduate School of Design