MARC record from Internet Archive

LEADER: 03187cam a2200361 a 4500
001 2013370518
003 DLC
005 20140203120002.0
008 130802s2012 nyu b 000 0 eng d
010 $a 2013370518
020 $a080212030X
020 $a9780802120304
035 $a(OCoLC)ocn778630896
040 $aAZZPT$beng$cAZZPT$dYDXCP$dCPL$dLEB$dCXP$dJTH$dBWX$dBKL$dVP@$dIQU$dOBE$dOCLCQ$dDLC
042 $alccopycat
043 $an-us---
050 00 $aHC106.84$b.K86 2012
082 04 $a363
082 04 $a303.4973$223
100 1 $aKunstler, James Howard.
245 10 $aToo much magic :$bwishful thinking, technology, and the fate of the nation /$cJames Howard Kunstler.
246 30 $aWishful thinking, technology, and the fate of the nation
250 $a1st ed.
260 $aNew York :$bAtlantic Monthly Press ;$a[Berkeley, Calif.] :$bDistributed by Publishers Group West,$cc2012.
300 $a245 p. ;$c24 cm.
500 $a"Published simultaneously in Canada"--T.p. verso.
504 $aIncludes bibliographical references.
505 0 $aWhere we're at -- Farewell to the drive-in utopia -- Cities of the future : yesterday's tomorrow or tomorrow's yesterday? -- The dangers of techno-narcissism, or, Frankenstein release 2.0, how Ray Kurzweil's singularity aims to replace the old god with a new and improved version -- The futility of party politics in the long emergency -- Going broke the hard way : the end of Wall Street -- The energy specter : oil and gas, alternative energy, and waiting for Santa Claus -- Insults to the planet and the planet's reply -- Social relations and the dilemmas of difference -- Coda : a systematic misunderstanding of reality.
520 $a""Too Much Magic" is what Kunstler sees in the bright visions of a future world dreamed up by optimistic souls who believe technology will solve all our problems. In Too Much Magic, Kunstler articulates a number of issues relating to the unsustainability of our high-energy lifestyle, including: The pernicious cult of "Happy Motoring" and our desire to preserve an ailing and backwards automotive industry at all costs; The upcoming demise of suburbia and the mass migration and demographic shifts that will ensue; The inadequacy of both renewable energy sources and alternative fossil fuels such as biodiesel, tar sands, and shale oil and gas to make up the energy shortfall when our conventional sources of fuel dry; The effect of the continuing increase in global population even after resource shortfalls of oil and fossil fuels become acute; How the diminishing returns of technology collide with hypercomplexity to scuttle our wishes for an easy way out of our epochal predicaments. With vision and clarity of thought, and an antic, comic spirit, Kunstler argues that the time for magical thinking and hoping for miracles is over, and the time to begin preparing for the long emergency has begun."--Jacket.
651 0 $aUnited States$xEconomic conditions$y2009-
651 0 $aUnited States$xSocial conditions$y21st century.
650 0 $aTechnology$xSocial aspects$zUnited States.
856 42 $3Publisher description$uhttp://www.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy1403/2013370518-d.html