Dr. Steven Hallett of Purdue University will be visiting on Friday, August 5 to discuss his new book, Life Without Oil (co-authored with journalist John Wright). In this thought-provoking examination, the authors delve into the implications of the energy crisis for the next generation. We were lucky enough to have Dr. Hallett share some of his thoughts with us about his book, ecology, and the publishing process–not to mention his coffee of choice.
Why did you decide to write Life Without Oil?
First of all, I simply wanted to write a full-length book. In my career to that time I had only ever written papers. They’re challenging enough, but a book is a different beast and I wanted to see if I could do it. The topic came out of a desire to understand various topics in economics, politics and history. I’ve always had a fascination with those subjects, but always bee frustrated with what I read. They always seemed terribly incomplete: economists tell us it’s all about money; historians tell us it’s all about “great men”. I always felt like it was all about ecology and the environment, so I set about attempting to understand how the world works from an ecological perspective.
How did you decide to work with John Wright? What did he bring to the table?
John is a well-rounded energy journalist. He was great at fact-checking the oil industry sections of the book and helping to tie the thesis of the book into the oil industry. He came on board at the suggestion of my agent who thought (correctly) that he would be vital to demonstrating the intellectual heft behind the book for sales and marketing. He was also already a published author (The Obama Haters, Potomac) as well as a journalist. John and I have since written a number of blogs and articles together to Washington Post, Huffington Post which also help promote the book.
The premise of your book is that in the not-so-distant future, our lifestyles will change due to a shift away from oil-based economics. What do you think this new lifestyle will look like? Are there any glimpses of it happening right now?
Glimpses? There are more than glimpses. The world is at turning points wherever you look – environmentally, politically, economically…We are all concerned about the “current recession” – but this is not a recession from which we will recover and resume business as usual. This is the beginning of the generations-long decline that marks the passing of the peak of the petroleum interval.
What will it look like? It will be complicated, different in different places, and unpredictable in many ways. At it’s core, though, we are looking at what Richard Heinberg calls “The End of Growth”. Our economies have been powered by ever-increasing access to energy for many decades. The coming decades will be marked by ever-decreasing access. It’s going to be ugly.
What kind of impact have you seen from the publication of the book?
I’ve had more of these interviews to do, and a few talks, and my mates say “Hey, Steve: I liked your book.” It makes me happy. Other than that I just watch the book jump between 50,000 to 500,000 on the bestseller list and hope that my first paycheck will arrive sometime soon. More seriously, though, I do get the occasional comment from someone telling me the book has influenced their thinking – changed the way they look at the world (I also get a few telling me I’m an idiot or a moron, but they just make me giggle). That’s what I am trying to do, in my own small way. I think most of the publications on peak oil, global climate change and our other crises are rather narrow and I hope I’ve told a reasonably comprehensive story here that links them together.
Do you think we learned anything from the Gulf spill? Has it led to any new/improved preventive measures to better secure our coastal areas?
The Gulf Spill? We have learned that an oil company can spill $4!&-loads of oil into the ocean and still turn a profit without barely losing market share. We have also learned that oil is getting harder to produce. The days of oil gushing freely out of cheap wells on land are ending. The rest of the oil is going to be harder, more expensive and riskier to get our hands on and we’re going to be increasingly desperate for it. Expect more trouble. Improvements and preventive measures: no.
You’ve been through the modern publishing process. What advice do you have for authors?
All that same stuff that I was told but didn’t believe. Brace yourself. For first time authors, writing the book is indeed the easy part. Selling the book is hard. Selling yourself is even harder – few publishers will take a first-time author unless you are famous (or infamous – rob bank and write about that!). Be methodical. Stick with it. If you want to find a decent publisher you probably need an agent. Getting an agent was my toughest challenge.
Do you have any plans for any future titles?
The Efficiency Trap: Why New Technologies Can Never Save the World, and Why Efficiency is No Substitute for Sex. I’m on page ten. I’ve written the section about sex. I’m struggling with the other 390 pages…
What’s your coffee of choice?
Any that has a ridiculous amount of sugar and milk in it.
Filed under: Book News, Store news by mike
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