This diverse collection by best-selling authors, renowned scientists, and experienced activists is an engaging and practical book that will be of interest to the lay reader as well as university students in both graduate and undergraduate courses. The expert contributors to The Post Carbon Reader were asked to unflinchingly describe the deep and interconnected sustainability crises confronting humanity in the 21st century--and then give readers concrete steps for addressing those crises. This unprecedented collection of writings (34 essays, 4 previously published) is an honest, informed and engaging exploration of the most challenging issues of our time. It includes chapters by best-selling authors like climate activist Bill McKibben, renowned scholars like 'ecological footprint' co-founder William Rees, and up-and-coming experts like urban food systems pioneer Erika Allen. Lead editor Richard Heinberg is the world's leading author of mass-market books on fossil fuel dependence and depletion. Heinberg says, 'We've run out of time, natural resources and capital, so this is our only chance to get things right.'