The Long Emergency
First edition cover | |
| Author | James Howard Kunstler |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Subject | Peak oil, Climate change, Economic instability |
| Genre | Non-fiction |
| Publisher | Grove/Atlantic |
Publication date | 2005 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (hardcover) |
| Followed by | Too Much Magic: Wishful Thinking, Technology, and the Fate of the Nation |
The Long Emergency: Surviving the Converging Catastrophes of the Twenty-first Century is a 2005 book by James Howard Kunstler published by Atlantic Monthly Press. The book examines the potential consequences of peak oil and argues that declining petroleum availability will converge with climate change, water scarcity, economic instability, disease, and warfare to create sustained global crises.
Kunstler's central thesis focuses on how peak oil extraction will fundamentally disrupt American society and the global economy. He contends that these energy-related upheavals will force communities to develop more localized, self-sufficient systems of food production and resource management. The book was followed by two sequels: Too Much Magic (2012) and Living in the Long Emergency (2020).