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REVIEWS @ POWERDOWN: Options and Actions —_Heinberg rejects "business as usual" as the for a Post-Carbon World solution and suggests that a combined strate- by Richard Heinberg gy of Powerdown and Building Lifeboats New Society Publishers, Canada, 2004 may preserve the best of what we have ISBN 0-86571-510-6 (208pp tpb) achieved while easing us out of a dire fate. Availability: New Society Publishers Heinberg concludes that small-scale, sus- tainable, decentralised communities that nurture individuals and preserve their cul- ture while protecting the environment hold the answer for humanity to weather the com- ing challenges—but it means much sacrifice and effort on our part. http:/;www.newsociety.com ndependent "information worker" Richard Heinberg wonders how many more warn- ings about impending environmental and economic crises do we have to have in order to make changes to stave off the coming roan oo. energy famine and socio-economic melt- This is an alarm call for urgent action if down. Briefly restating his Peak Oil argu- we're to avoid decades of war, economic ment from The Party's Over (see 10/04), in collapse and environmental catastrophe. Powerdown he proposes strategies to cope with the resource depletion, climate change, COCONUT CURES population pressures, declining food produc- _ by Bruce Fife, ND tion, unsustainable debt levels and interna- Piccadilly Books, Colorado, USA, 2005 tional instability about to overwhelm us. ISBN 0-941599-60-4 (256pp tpb) Availability: Piccadilly Books Ltd, http:/Awww.piccadilly books.com f ever there were a true cure-all, coconut would have to be it. Its water, meat, milk and oil are prized in the Asia-Pacific region for its benefits in health, healing and longevity, and its fibre is useful in a range of applications. Literally, a coconut a day can keep the doctor away for peoples in the trop- ics and, for that matter, anywhere. Coconut Cures is nutritionist and naturo- pathic doctor Bruce Fife's follow-up to his bestselling book The Healing Miracles of Coconut Oil (Piccadilly, 2001; see review in NEXUS 9/02). Fife has done much to edu- cate the public about the healing properties Regarding this predicted energy famine, of the medium-chain saturated fats found in Heinberg believes that fossil fuels are non- coconut products, and his new book has an renewable and their supplies finite, and that abundance of advice on how to make the the signs are already here that the rate of most of this gift from nature. global oil extraction has peaked and will start to subside within the next few years, regardless of any technical advances in exploration or recovery. Yet our demand for oil knows no bounds. This is obviously unsustainable, and Heinberg thinks that some form of collapse is now inevitable, though perhaps industrialised societies can do something to choose the form it takes. He presents and analyses four options that demonstrate "the constraints and opportuni- ties of our unique moment in time": Last One Standing, or the path of competition for remaining resources; Powerdown, the path of cooperation, conservation and sharing (including development of alternative ener- gy sources and more equitable resource dis- tribution); Waiting for a Magic Elixir, where wishful thinking, false hopes and denial dis- tract from the hard work to avert a catastro- phe; and Building Lifeboats, the path of community solidarity and preservation, which assumes that our civilisation cannot be salvaged in anything like its present form. People who partake of coconut are less prone to coronary artery disease, stroke, arthritis, asthma, diabetes, Alzheimer's dis- ease, auto-immune disease, psoriasis, cancer and many other illnesses compared with the general population. As a food, coconut is nutritious, safe and can be taken freely; it promotes absorption of other foods, particularly fat-soluble vita- mins (A, D, E, K) and minerals (calcium, magnesium, iron). It also has powerful anti- pathogenic, anti-inflammatory and immuno- regulating properties. Fife advises on treatments for specific ail- ments using the products of the coconut; these are inexpensive, accessible and time- honoured alternatives that you can introduce into your regime without having to resort to pharmaceuticals. And forget about facelifts: applying coconut oil and partaking of coconut can reduce wrinkles and combat ageing! For those who can get hold of fresh coconut, Fife has some fabulous recipes for making your own coconut-based products. Heinberg rejects "business as usual" as the solution and suggests that a combined strate- gy of Powerdown and Building Lifeboats may preserve the best of what we have achieved while easing us out of a dire fate. Heinberg concludes that small-scale, sus- tainable, decentralised communities that nurture individuals and preserve their cul- ture while protecting the environment hold the answer for humanity to weather the com- ing challenges—but it means much sacrifice and effort on our part. This is an alarm call for urgent action if we're to avoid decades of war, economic collapse and environmental catastrophe. COCONUT CURES by Bruce Fife, ND Piccadilly Books, Colorado, USA, 2005 ISBN 0-941599-60-4 (256pp tpb) Availability: Piccadilly Books Ltd, http:/Awww.piccadilly books.com f ever there were a true cure-all, coconut would have to be it. Its water, meat, milk and oil are prized in the Asia-Pacific region for its benefits in health, healing and longevity, and its fibre is useful in a range of applications. Literally, a coconut a day can keep the doctor away for peoples in the trop- ics and, for that matter, anywhere. Coconut Cures is nutritionist and naturo- pathic doctor Bruce Fife's follow-up to his bestselling book The Healing Miracles of Coconut Oil (Piccadilly, 2001; see review in NEXUS 9/02). Fife has done much to edu- cate the public about the healing properties of the medium-chain saturated fats found in coconut products, and his new book has an abundance of advice on how to make the most of this gift from nature. People who partake of coconut are less prone to coronary artery disease, stroke, arthritis, asthma, diabetes, Alzheimer's dis- ease, auto-immune disease, psoriasis, cancer and many other illnesses compared with the general population. As a food, coconut is nutritious, safe and can be taken freely; it promotes absorption of other foods, particularly fat-soluble vita- mins (A, D, E, K) and minerals (calcium, magnesium, iron). It also has powerful anti- pathogenic, anti-inflammatory and immuno- regulating properties. Fife advises on treatments for specific ail- ments using the products of the coconut; these are inexpensive, accessible and time- honoured alternatives that you can introduce into your regime without having to resort to pharmaceuticals. And forget about facelifts: applying coconut oil and partaking of coconut can reduce wrinkles and combat ageing! For those who can get hold of fresh coconut, Fife has some fabulous recipes for making your own coconut-based products. 70 = NEXUS www.nexusmagazine.com AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2005