"Just as the human body adapts itself to the regular intake of 'hard' drugs, its systems coming to depend on them to such an extent that the user goes through a period of acute distress if they are suddenly withdrawn, so the use of "hard" fossil energy alters the economic metabolism and is so highly addictive that in a crisis, a user community or country will be prepared to export almost any proportion of its annual output to buy its regular fix. Even in normal conditions, a community in an industrialized country can devote a fifth of its external income to buying energy, an expense that not only constitutes a serious drain on its resources but also locks the community into the unpredictable gyrations of the world trading system." - Richard Douthwaite

   Overview

   What's New            Resources