The Law of Diminishing Returns

By Richard Heinberg, originally published by Post Carbon Institute

April 8, 2015

NOTE: Images in this archived article have been removed.

Part one of a four-part video series. Released in conjunction with Afterburn: Society Beyond Fossil Fuels.

Is modern society hitting our defining moment, the point of diminishing returns? In this brand new short video, Richard Heinberg explores how — in our economy, the environment, and energy production — we may well be. When previous societies have hit similar limits, they often doubled-down by attempting ever more complex interventions to keep things going, before finally collapsing. Will this be our fate too? And is there an alternative? This video is the first in a four-part series by Richard Heinberg and Post Carbon Institute. The themes covered in these videos are much more thoroughly explored in Heinberg’s latest book, Afterburn: Society Beyond Fossil Fuels.  

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Richard Heinberg

Richard passed away unexpectedly in July 2026. Read this rememberance by Asher Miller.

Richard Heinberg was regarded as one of the world’s foremost advocates for a shift away from our current reliance on fossil fuels. He was the author of fourteen books, including some of the seminal works on society’s current energy and environmental sustainability crisis. Richard was Senior Fellow of Post Carbon Institute for nearly twenty years.

Richard authored hundreds of essays and articles that have appeared in such journals as Nature and The Wall Street Journal; delivered hundreds of lectures on energy and climate issues to audiences on six continents; and was quoted and interviewed countless times for print, television, and radio. His monthly MuseLetter was published for 400 consecutive months starting in 1992, and was included in Utne Magazine’s annual list of Best Alternative Newsletters.

Full bio at postcarbon.org.

Tags: complexity, diminishing returns, energy limits, Law of Diminishing Productivity

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On Sunday, July 19, we lost our kind, brilliant friend and colleague, Richard Heinberg. 

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