The End of Growth Updated eBook

Richard Heinberg

June 2012

In The End of Growth, published in September 2011, Richard Heinberg, made the observation that world economic expansion, which has been barreling along for the past few decades, is now stalling. The book further claimed that this is not an outcome we can prevent; we can only choose whether and how to adapt. He argued that economic contraction is inevitable at some point since we are already overusing most of Earth’s important resources, and that limits to debt and to affordable oil supplies, along with worsening environmental disasters, are conspiring to bring about the reversal roughly now (i.e., this decade). Some countries will do better than others, and temporary partial recoveries are possible. But for the foreseeable future, contraction—not growth—will be the norm.

So, how are we doing just nine months later? Is the global economy mending or teetering on the brink? Is the book’s hypothesis confirmed or disproved?

Read our newly released, updated ebook to find out. The updated End of Growth has over twenty pages of previously unpublished, new material and is available for sale now through ebook retailers either as a standalone, or the full text plus the update.

The End of Growth update starts with a survey of the European scene and expands to include the United States, China, and Japan. Then it takes a look at some of the deeper social and ecological factors required for growth—ones that most economists tend to gloss over. It ends with an overview of some of the more hopeful ways society is coping with the biggest economic transition in history.

Richard Heinberg is the author of nine books and is widely regarded as one of the world's most effective communicators of the urgent need to transition away from fossil fuels. With a wry, unflinching approach based on facts and realism, he exposes the tenuousness of our current way of life and offers a vision for a truly sustainable future.

See what he has to say about the future of our economy.

Buy the standalone update (an eBook version of just the new content)

Buy The End of Growth Updated eBook (full text plus the new content)

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