‘Ending the Fossil Fuel Era’ Book Release

05/12/2015

The beginning of the end of the fossil fuel era takes center stage in Dr. Jack Manno's latest book, "Ending the Fossil Fuel Era." A book release party will be held 7 p.m., May 18 at ArtRage Gallery, 505 Hawley Ave., Syracuse.

Manno, associate professor in ESF's Department of Environmental Studies, worked with his colleagues for three years gathering stories "from around the world where people have attempted and in some cases been successful keeping fossil fuels and valuable minerals in the ground."

"This is part of understanding that there's plenty of fossil fuels, but the extreme effort that it takes to get them and the quality of the fossil fuels declined over time," Manno said. "So it's inevitable that we have to begin to end the fossil fuel era. It's about the beginning of the end, not 'we're going to stop using fossil fuels tomorrow.'"

The book includes examples of social movements, arguments to delegitimize fossil fuels as a step toward developing alternatives and redesigning society in order to live well with less energy, he said.

"We all know that food is good. Food is fuel. And we also know that when you're hungry a certain amount of food is very important, but beyond a certain point it no longer serves a purpose," said Manno. "We've sort of reached that saturation point as a society, as a globe and the changes in the atmosphere that are leading to climate disruptions is one of the major signs. It's clear that we have to begin to end our dependence on fossil fuels. This book is about how people are doing that."

The book is co-edited and co-authored by Tom Princen of the University of Michigan and Pamela Martin of Coastal Carolina University. The book is published by MIT Press.

The book release party falls on Manno's 64th birthday with the evening doubling as a birthday celebration. "Come for a talk and a book signing followed by dancing," he said. For more information, contact Marie Summerwood, 315-474-1132 ext. 113 or Marie@syracuseculturalworkers.com