Book Review of The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight by Thom Hartmann

From reading Thom Hartman’s The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight, we might conjure an image of a huge bomb in the form of planet earth, with several rapidly-burning fuses protruding. Each fuse represents one of the ways in which human beings are contributing to the destruction of the earth and consequently, of themselves.  Hartmann begins with an explanation of the term “ancient sunlight,” which is essentially energy stored in the form of fossil fuels, created when organic matter is subjected to tremendous pressure for millions of years. Contrary to popular belief, Hartmann explains, plant matter is composed primarily of energy drawn from sunlight and air, not from the soil in which it grows. Therefore oil and coal are ancient sunlight. An over-simplification perhaps, but basically accurate.

Hartmann offers a variety of reasons –ecological, social and political- for the world’s present predicament.  Primarily he cites humanity’s exploding population, which is increasingly competing for a limited supply of resources. He then meticulously explores every other aspect of the problem – the destruction of trees, the pollution of the air and water and the mass extinctions of other species at the hands of Man.