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REVIEWS @ PEAK EVERYTHING based communities. In "Five Axioms of bureaucracies and the scientific orthodoxy by Richard Heinberg Sustainability", Heinberg discusses the his- started in 1984 when he refused to use a Clairview Books, UK, 2007 (1st pub. by tory and misuse of the terms "sustainable" mandated, toxic, organophosphate pesticide New Society Publishers, Canada, 2007) and "sustainability" and presents five "self- on his dairy herd to control warble fly infes- ISBN 978-1-905570-13-3 (212pp tpb) evident truths", e.g., "to be sustainable, the tation. In time, he started to question Available: www.clairviewbooks.com use of renewable resources must proceed at __ whether the insecticide could have sparked a rate that is less than or equal to the rate of the spread of "mad cow disease". His n Peak Everything, Richard Heinberg con- tinues f the themes he tackled i natural replenishment". In "Bridging Peak research domain spread from his farm to the The Party's Over Powenlown and Th, , Oil Oil and Climate Change Activism", he world, where he visited regions with high Depletion Protocol (see NEXUS 10/04 encourages depletion and emissions activists | TSE rates. He continued to refine his theory 12/05, 14/02). He says that in the early 21st ©. Cooperate on policy goals, so that energy _to include rogue silicate microcrystals enter- century we're faced with decline in crucial efficiency and curtailment become the domi- _ ing the brain, and the role of high-intensity areas and thus must make practical, psycho- nant responses to the problem of our fossil- low-frequency infrasonic shock (e.g., from, logical and cultural changes urgently if we're fuel dependency. A clarion call to action. quarry explosions and low-flying supersonic to make a graceful transition from excess to aircraft) as a co-factor in TSE transmission. restraint. These crucial areas under threat ANIMAL PHARM His journey is well documented here and include non-renewable energy resources by Mark Purdey includes coverage of his visit to Groote (oil, natural gas, coal), minerals and ores, edited by Nigel Purdey Pylandt in the Gulf of Carpentaria, 4 economic growth, agriculture and fisheries, Clairview Books, East Sussex, UK, 2007 Nocti te he eee on ‘which fresh water supply and climate stability. ISBN 978-1-905570-11-9 (282pp tpb) h ee de © NDorigina’ popuration, wine Our world is changing and can't keep up Available: www.clairviewbooks.com The own to has helped ee with our greed; so if we don't adapt, we can t's a tragedy that organic farmer, father of shift in our understand ie ot how pollu ‘ante. expect more wars and famines. Best, then, eight and voracious researcher Mark have a detrimental effect on health. to highlight attributes that are not near their —_— Purdey, born in 1953, died so young (of a historical peaks, such as community, person- _ brain tumour in November 2006)—and just al autonomy, cooperation and ingenuity, as many of his findings about TSEs (trans- says Heinberg in his introduction. missable spongiform encephalopathies like This compilation of essays, often inspired BSE and CJD) were starting to be acknowl- by Heinberg's involvement in conversations, _ edged in the scientific literature. conferences and groups, is divided into three Mark Purdey had been planning to write a sections: technology, agriculture and the book and, indeed, wrote many articles that arts; nature's limits and the human condi- could have been the basis thereof (see tion; and the end of one era, the beginning of _ NEXUS 10/03-04), but he died before he another. In his "Fifty Million Farmers", a could complete the task. His older brother speech he gave to the E. F. Schumacher Neil Purdey leapt in to fill the gap, to ensure Society, he calls for the de-industrialisation that Mark's groundwork is on the record and of agriculture, analyses Cuba's post-Soviet to honour the memory of a man of integrity, experience, and proposes local sustainable original thinking and commitment. In his solutions such as backyard vegetable gar- introduction, he gives insights into what dens (recalling the "Victory Gardens" pro- made Mark the unique human being he was. ject in the USA in WWII) and permaculture- Mark Purdey's run-ins with government based communities. In "Five Axioms of Sustainability", Heinberg discusses the his- tory and misuse of the terms "sustainable" and "sustainability" and presents five "self- evident truths", e.g., "to be sustainable, the use of renewable resources must proceed at a rate that is less than or equal to the rate of natural replenishment". In "Bridging Peak Oil and Climate Change Activism", he encourages depletion and emissions activists to cooperate on policy goals, so that energy efficiency and curtailment become the domi- nant responses to the problem of our fossil- fuel dependency. A clarion call to action. 70 = NEXUS bureaucracies and the scientific orthodoxy started in 1984 when he refused to use a mandated, toxic, organophosphate pesticide on his dairy herd to control warble fly infes- tation. In time, he started to question whether the insecticide could have sparked the spread of "mad cow disease". His research domain spread from his farm to the world, where he visited regions with high TSE rates. He continued to refine his theory to include rogue silicate microcrystals enter- ing the brain, and the role of high-intensity low-frequency infrasonic shock (e.g., from quarry explosions and low-flying supersonic aircraft) as a co-factor in TSE transmission. His journey is well documented here and includes coverage of his visit to Groote Eylandt in the Gulf of Carpentaria, Australia, to investigate Groote syndrome affecting the Aboriginal population, which he put down to manganese contamination. This one man has helped create a paradigm shift in our understanding of how pollutants have a detrimental effect on health. www.nexusmagazine.com FEBRUARY — MARCH 2008