In 2011, while working toward a Ph.D. in American Studies at the University of Minnesota, Matthew Schneider-Mayerson began a study into the peak oil community. Approaching his subject from the perspective of a social scientist, he conducted his research by way of surveys, interviews, field notes and participant observation (the latter two gleaned through attending the 2009 Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas international conference in Denver). His book Peak Oil: Apocalyptic Environmentalism and Libertarian Political Culture is the result of this research. It investigates the ideology and subculture of “peakists,” explores how their movement was influenced by the ascendancy of libertarianism into mainstream American politics and the rise of Internet technology, analyzes peak oil-themed fiction, probes the reasons behind peakists’ political quiescence and discusses the peak oil subculture within the context of […]