Peak Oil: Apocalyptic Environmentalism and Libertarian Political Culture

In recent years, the concept of “peak oil”—the moment when global oil production peaks and a train of economic, social, and political catastrophes accompany its subsequent decline—has captured the imagination of a surprisingly large number of Americans, ordinary citizens as well as scholars, and created a quiet, yet intense underground movement.

In Peak Oil, Matthew Schneider—Mayerson takes readers deep inside the world of “peakists,” showing how their hopes and fears about the postcarbon f...