The Race for What's Left

"Reading this book, it's hard not to think about postapocalyptic fiction . . . Think Margaret Atwood, Cormac McCarthy, and, most recent, Suzanne Colllns's Hunger Games. Yet novelists often skip over the messy parts along the road to dystopia. It's scary to think that Klare, far from crying wolf, might be providing the sordid details in real time."—Science News

"In The Race for What's Left—a book displaying his stunning knowledge of drilling and mining techniques, obscure minerals, geology, and remote regions of the world—Klare argues that 'the world is entering an era of pervasive, unprecedented resource scarcity' . . . We must begin adapting to the limits of our resources, and Michael Klare's outstanding book—exhaustively-researched, beautifully-written, and convincingly-argued—helps move this vital project forward.."—Lawrence S. Wittner, History News Network

"A first-rate, well-researched wake-up call . . . Klare has identified the problem in vivid detail."—The Christian Science Monitor

"Outstanding . . . Exhaustively researched, beautifully written, and convincingly argued."—The Huffington Post

"In a sane world, we'd take the limits we are clearly reaching as a signal to reduce our fixation on growth and begin searching for new ways to live. Instead, as Michael Klare makes clear in this powerful book, the heads of our corporate empires have decided to rip apart the planet in one last burst of profiteering. If you want to understand the next decade, I fear you better read this book."—Bill McKibben, author of Eaarth

"If you think oil is the only major thing we're running short of, think again. Michael Klare has long been farsighted about the many hazards of a resource-hungry world, and this crisp, authoritative survey does more than just show what the other dangers are. It also feels like a guidebook to wars to come."—Adam Hochschild, author of King Leopold's Ghost

"Michael Klare has written a gripping account of the world's great resource grab and its terrifying implications for the planet. Fortunately, he doesn't stop there but offers the world a way out through a ‘race to adapt.' A must read for anyone who wants to understand not only the challenge of our diminishing resources but also what we can do about it."—Elizabeth C. Economy, author of The River Runs Black

"Michael Klare is like a beacon shining into the dark and scary wilderness that our future has become. This is an indispensable book for anyone who wants to understand what reality requires of us in the years ahead."—James Howard Kunstler, author of The Long Emergency

"If Michael Klare cared more about his wallet than about humanity's welfare, he could have spent his career earning gazillions as a global trends adviser for Wall Street. Luckily for the rest of us, he chose people over profit. Now, for the mere price of a book, we all can benefit from Klare's razor-sharp analysis of where the world is heading—and how we can still change course."—Mark Hertsgaard, author of Hot: Living Through the Next Fifty Years on Earth

"Michael Klare has done it again. In clear and compelling prose, The Race for What's Left shows how resource depletion is accelerating even more rapidly than originally suspected and how competition for scarce resources has intensified. The potential for conflict and environmental catastrophe is frightening. This book is vital for understanding the crossroads we face: either develop green technologies now or fight another round of devastating resource wars. Our future depends upon the choices we make right now."—Terry Lynn Karl, author of The Paradox of Plenty

"A reasoned discussion exploring a chilling phenomenon: the increasingly competitive and potentially dangerous rivalry for Earth's diminishing natural resources. Though empires and countries have always harvested the resources necessary for their survival, writes Nation defense correspondent Klare, the world now faces an unprecedented combination of factors, a perfect storm made up of 'a lack of any unexplored resource preserves beyond those now being eyed for development; the sudden emergence of rapacious new consumers; technical and environmental limitations on the exploitation of new deposits; and the devastating effects of climate change.' The author touches on the discovery of the mammoth deposits of oil, copper, gold, natural gas and other key minerals made after World War II, which fueled prosperity for decades. However, in 2011 many of these commodities have passed their peak, and corporations and governments must now venture into 'previously inaccessible or inhospitable areas.' Klare deftly describes the complex and questionable methods required for acquiring these resources, including deep offshore drilling and hydraulic fracturing ('fracking'). The author devotes one chapter to the 'land-buying sprees' now occurring around the globe. Saudi Arabia, China, South Korea and the United States are buying up land in other countries in order to secure a stable food supply for their citizens—often at the expense of the supplying country. In Ethiopia, plots of land owned by Saudi Arabia have become 'high-tech plantations set in the middle of a country where farming is still conducted with sickles and ox-drawn plows, and where millions suffer from chronic malnutrition' . . . The book is a provocative, important addition to the literature of resource issues."—Kirkus Reviews

"In this meticulously researched account of the coming shortage of natural resources, journalist Klare describes the impact this scarcity will have on the future of the human race. In levelheaded prose, he tells how a rising need for fuel, industrial metals, minerals, and farmland will create a dearth with global environmental, political, and financial implications. Even now, tensions are simmering, with governments skirmishing and large corporations ruthlessly competing for control over dwindling reserves. Moving through the catalogue of precious materials, Klare summarizes the extreme explorations that have already begun, from the Arctic to the Sahara and the dark canyons at the bottom of the ocean. As accessible sources are depleted and more risky endeavors become the only way satisfy demand, devastating catastrophes like the explosion at BP's Deepwater Horizon rig will only multiply. But an aggressive race for what's left isn't a long-term strategy, Klare reminds us. What's needed is a 'race to adapt'—an attempt to find a sustainable approach to extraction and consumption that will benefit us all."—Publishers Weekly