Living in the ‘Last Hours’

I read Thom Hartmann’s The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight because it was an assignment for a class. It has, however, proved itself one of the most important books I read this year.

Last Hours describes in great detail how the earth’s fragile ecology is on the brink of total collapse.


If there was ever a time to read such a book, it is now.

The book’s title refers to oil and coal, and in fact, all matter, as “ancient sunlight”.

Throughout the book, Hartmann mentions that all forms of energy and matter are comprised of sunlight.

Plants grow by taking in carbon dioxide and expelling oxygen, converting the carbon through photosynthesis into plant matter.

Animals eat those plants (and eat animals that eat those plants).

The genius of Hartmann’s book, however, is the connection of “all things rely on sunlight” to the modern energy crisis.

The Shield (University of Southern Indiana)