Peak Oil, Economic Growth, and Wildlife Conservation

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 and wildlife 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.

The only book that integrates the topics of Peak Oil, economic growth, and wildlife conservation

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.