Warning : This document is still a draft
The Age of Low Tech.
We have been taught for more than 30 years about global warming, peak oil, wastes, ... and what is the result ? Only awareness. Concrete action are very limited.
Introduction
This book addresses the main problem we face with sustainability: wrong ideas and government policies.
Prologue
Instead of inventing new technology to solve the current problems, why not address the source of the problem?
Instead of finding ways to recycle everything, why not produce less waste?
The idea is simple, but everyone talks about Economy 4.0 while Economy 2.0—based on basic, easy‑to‑repair technologies—would be sufficient.
When I was born, 2020 was supposed to be the year of flying cars, cyborgs, and safe cities.
Today? We have a smartphone, tablets, and lightweight computers, so we can watch stupid videos wherever we are, whenever we want.
That is “progress.” Yet we are far from the utopia where life is generally better.
Deindustrialisation because of globalization has a positive side: less local pollution and many job losses.
The downside is more pollution abroad, because the countries where products are made often do not care, and we lack awareness of the suffering it causes.
Food and goods that travel thousands of kilometres are cheaper than local products. We prefer to save money while polluting the planet.
We also destroy land to build roads and structures, while many houses and apartments remain empty.
People want to look good, like in a movie, and own a modern, high‑tech house. But they don’t want to confront the hidden consequences.
The Rise and Fall of Engineering Miracle Workers
Innovation: research + development.
Many tech startups promise new products—air purifiers, solar aircraft, you name it. The cost of producing them is often larger than the benefits.
Technology: Answer to Resource Shortages
Resources have always been scarce. In previous civilizations, some collapsed because of over‑exploitation of water, forests, and other resources (renewable or not). So this is not a new phenomenon. In the past, peoples’ tools were less advanced, limiting their ability to change production methods.
Against shortages, there are three strategies:
- Migrate: move to a location where the resource is available.
- Trade: create commercial exchanges with people abroad.
- Invent: develop new tools to extract a difficult‑to‑obtain resource.
Energy is the main pillar of our economy. Before the 18th century, we relied on:
- wood
- wind
- water mills
- animal traction
Later the main source became coal, followed by gas and oil. Thanks to these sources we no longer exploit whales for their fat.
Earlier, all resources were limited by land. Everything came from farming or forest. Now we use petroleum to produce countless items: clothes, plastic, etc. We also use synthetic fertilizers on the land.
The use of non‑renewable resources is not new. It began with stone used to build houses and roads. Wood is renewable, but its regeneration time is long (shorter than petroleum and gas), so planning is needed to avoid over‑exploitation. Arable land is renewable to some extent, but soil quality can decline through erosion, over‑irrigation, or over‑use. Food preservation is only a temporary solution to smooth the “peak” of unavailability.
Containerisation allowed trade to develop massively: items are more protected and moved more easily, without damage. This transportation mode is cheap because of oil, which shifts pollution from the consumption site to the production site.
The 20th century saw a major shift: a new economic model, highly specialised companies, factories for workers, and massive trade between countries and firms.
High Tech Is Not the Answer This Time
Gasoline prices rise, and with rent, food prices increase as well. One liter of gasoline, compared to the average hourly wage, is much cheaper today than in 1970.
There are dreamers who think nuclear fusion will happen, renewable energy will dominate world production, metal will be recycled indefinitely, hydrogen and electric cars will replace internal‑combustion vehicles, and CO₂ will be captured.
However, this does not work: we face peaks of everything—oil, gas, metal, fertilizers, … To build renewable‑energy infrastructure (photovoltaic cells, wind turbines, etc.) we must invest energy to extract metals and assemble the devices. Their limited lifetimes mean that, over their operating period, the energy they produce barely covers the energy invested. Afterwards, energy is needed again to recycle components and to extract and separate metals.
Some parts are reusable; many are not. Polymers cannot be remelted easily. This is the problem with carbon‑fiber‑reinforced polymer (CFRP) used in planes and wind turbines: it is difficult to recycle.
Recycling is still not ingrained in people’s minds. For example, only about 55 % of nickel is recycled. After two recycling cycles only a quarter of the original material remains; the other 45 % is lost due to contamination (too costly to separate) or incineration with other waste. Many metals are used as micro‑ or nano‑particles because of their special properties; recovering an element present at 1 × 10⁻³ % is extremely challenging. Yet, over one tonne of material, you lose about 1 kg of that metal.
There is a race to produce greener cars with lower CO₂ emissions per kilometre. The problem with electric cars, aside from electricity generation, is their weight. A vehicle with a 50 km range is not acceptable for most customers, so large batteries are used. Most of the car’s energy is spent moving the battery itself.
Instead of focusing on marginally greener technology, a drastic option is to reduce speed on roads. Lower speeds decrease accident severity, allowing lighter car structures with fewer steel reinforcements and less electronics. Reduced weight directly lowers fuel consumption, regardless of fuel type. (The downside: lower speeds may increase driver fatigue on long trips, potentially raising accident risk.)
CO₂ capture would be valuable, but it is currently too expensive to implement at scale.
Energy is not the same as electricity. Energy sources are used for heat, mechanical work, or electricity, and they are not interchangeable. Each source has a specific energy yield for each purpose.
A fully renewable system by 2050 is almost impossible. It would require so many photovoltaic panels, wind turbines, and other devices that we would
- lack the raw materials to build them,
- need more workers than available,
- require large land areas (wind farms, wave and tidal technologies) that would impact ecosystems,
- have insufficient land for biofuel production without jeopardising food crops.
Rebound effect: when something becomes more efficient or cheaper, we tend to use it more. If a car can travel 1 000 miles on the same amount of gasoline as an older model that could only manage 500, people will drive more.
Some innovations are useless: a fridge that writes a shopping list, checkout‑free shopping, or direct‑payment systems.
Production systems are highly interconnected and not resilient; a failure in one area propagates throughout the whole network.
Biotech’s Three Main Goals
- Feeding the world (e.g., GMOs)
- Producing energy from wool, wood, or algae
- Producing fine products (oil, drugs)
The biotech field is not yet mature. For GMOs we still do not fully understand the risks, and scaling other applications within a few decades is unrealistic. Exploiting all available biomass would also impact ecosystems.
Nanomaterials are too small to be efficiently reused or recycled, creating material waste.
Dematerialisation
Telecommunication and the Internet enable virtual meetings, reducing the need for travel. However, the infrastructure (servers, cables, antennas, personal computers, phones) still consumes resources, and mental habits persist: after COVID‑19, many employers still require office attendance, increasing building heating, transportation, etc. Home‑working has drawbacks too (less social contact, reduced exercise, dependence on one’s living environment).
Renting vs. Buying
Renting a car lets you swap vehicles whenever you wish; the renter assumes maintenance costs. This model works for items with uncertain lifespans (some cars fail after 15 000 km). It is less suitable for cheap items like a child’s bike or a lamp, but it can be tempting for appliances whose expected lifetimes have shortened. Renting encourages continuous replacement, leading to premature obsolescence: items are discarded because they are no longer “new,” not because they are broken. To avoid this, products (fridges, washing machines) must be guaranteed to last longer and be easier to repair.
3D Printers Are Not the Answer
3D printing is fine for simple, static items (a case or a box). Most complex objects consist of many assembled parts that cannot be printed as a single piece.
Three Dead‑Ends
- Over‑exploitation of renewable resources (land, forest, fish) and of non‑renewable resources.
- Pollution: CO₂, plastic, metals, soil contamination.
- Land covering: urbanisation creates more roads and buildings, reducing cultivable land.
Yet many highways, airports, and buildings remain empty or under‑used.
The Principles of Simple Technologies
Demographics is an issue; a smaller population would ease many pressures. Shifting to “simple technologies” does not mean returning to the medieval age; it means moving toward a more sustainable state.
Challenge the Needs
There is no “truly green car.” Recycling is never 100 % and it consumes energy. The cleanest product is the one you never use. Zero consumption yields the lowest footprint, but total zero is impossible because we value comfort.
No single action will save us all. It is not merely “use bicycles for everything,” “switch off lights,” or “eat less meat.” Each solution reduces the footprint only slightly; we need a combination of many small improvements.
Root of the Problem
Glass lifecycle
- Reuse: Consigned bottles can be reused directly without remelting.
- Recycle: Glass fragments are remelted together, consuming energy; each manufacturer’s different composition lowers the quality of the remelted glass.
Simple Suggestions with Minimal Lifestyle Impact
- Stop advertising: eliminate printed magazines, light panels, and ad agencies (which consume energy for monitoring and delivering ads).
- Tyre remoulding: car tyres last ~30 000 km, while truck tyres can be reused up to 1 000 000 km; only the tread band needs replacement.
- Bottled water: France already has one of the safest tap‑water systems.
- Printed magazines: most content does not need full‑color; black‑and‑white suffices, and a glossy journal is unnecessary for one‑time reading.
- Reduce car speed (e.g., 90 km/h): lower speeds reduce accident severity, allowing lighter cars with fewer reinforcements. The downside is increased driver fatigue on long trips, but lighter cars consume less fuel.
- Building insulation and adaptation to lower indoor temperatures.
In the book, a diagram plots ideas on two axes:
- Ease / Difficulty (impact on comfort)
- Effectiveness / Ineffectiveness (size of impact on pollution/consumption)
Truly Sustainable Design and Production
Build items that are:
- Durable
- Made of simple materials
- Resource‑efficient
- Easy to repair
- Easy to recycle
Relocating production is important because it makes us aware of negative externalities. We readily buy smartphones made in China without caring about the coal‑energy used in their manufacture. Local production teaches us how to make and repair products, helps manage pollution, and reduces dependence on distant suppliers. Some productions cannot be moved (mining, certain agriculture that needs specific climates).
Some items cannot be simplified (smartphones, computers), but many can (a fridge without Bluetooth, a blender without a tablet, a washing machine with fewer electronics). If electronics add no value, they should be omitted.
Standardisation aids reusability (e.g., a few glass‑bottle formats). Yet not all standardisation helps: USB‑C replaced many older connectors, prompting new product designs. Cable proliferation also stems from habit—each device arrives with its own cable, leading to dozens of identical cords.
Packaging can be improved. For fruits and vegetables, reusable paper or plastic bags are an alternative. Some products could be sold “dry”: solid shampoo and soap can be reconstituted with water at home, reducing plastic packaging and transport weight.
Orient Knowledge Toward Economic Use of Resources
Low economy: Do less, but do it more sustainably. Research should pursue goals different from today’s growth‑centric targets.
Finding the Balance Between Performance and Comfort
The most effective technologies are often the most complex, consuming more resources for the same outcome. Tall buildings maximise land use but need more metal. Large wind turbines generate more power but increase transport losses and require grid adaptations. The classic Citroën 2CV is a small, lightweight, low‑consumption car—perfect for neighbourhood trips, even if it is less suitable for mountain roads.
Relocation Without Losing Economies of Scale
Large plants benefit from economies of scale, but transportation costs must be considered. Heavy or highly consumed products should be produced close to the point of use; low‑volume items (e.g., smartphones) can remain in specialised factories.
Factories and micro‑reactors occupy space and generate pollution, so a careful trade‑off is required.
For food, reusable packaging (glass bottles, paper bags, Tupperware) can cut waste. For cars, extending vehicle lifespans saves a great deal. Regulations forcing a swift shift from internal‑combustion to electric cars waste energy when existing vehicles are still functional.
Specialisation allows workers to master specific tasks, making training easier and enabling rapid reassignment. Automated factories full of robots increase dependency on overseas supply chains (e.g., China).
Network industries—water, electricity, internet, roads, hospitals, logistics—concentrate people, raising disease‑propagation risk. Competition among service providers can lower service quality and affect workers’ quality of life.
De‑mechanised Services
Not all jobs need to be replaced by robots. Travel‑agency tasks can be automated, but doctors, for example, cannot. A “neo‑proletariat” will consist of jobs that cannot be mechanised.
Knowing How to Stay Modest
Science has made many promises; many remain unfulfilled. We cannot control every process—teaching a spider to spin a thread for our benefit is unrealistic.
Daily Life in the Era of Simple Technologies
Agriculture and Food
The population continues to grow. Yields have increased through pesticides, phosphates, and nitrates, but we have reached a ceiling; further increases are difficult. Without these inputs, yields would likely fall, especially for organic production.
The economy often focuses on input versus output, ignoring environmental cost. Keeping oil for agriculture is justified only when the benefit (reduced labour) outweighs the cost.
Permaculture and mixed methods (e.g., animals under trees) offer alternatives.
Across the entire food‑production‑distribution chain, about a quarter of potential food is lost. Some crops are left in fields because harvesting costs exceed expected revenue. Transportation or storage accidents are rare, but supermarket “defective” products that are mishandled by customers are thrown away, and many people leave food uneaten at the canteen or at home. All these losses add up to roughly 25 % waste.
Food‑diet choices matter. Meat production requires more land than direct‑consumption crops. Shifting toward vegetarian diets would free land. Livestock can also be valuable as a source of fertiliser when managed correctly.
Aquaculture can relieve pressure on wild fisheries, but farmed fish often eat other fish, limiting its benefit.
We must accept higher food prices. For fifty years, the share of income spent on food declined due to global distribution improvements. Now that trend cannot continue; paying more for higher‑quality food is inevitable.
Transport and Cars
(Section to be expanded.)
Construction and Urban Planning
(Section to be expanded.)
Consumer Products, Sports and Leisure, Tourism
(Section to be expanded.)
New Tech and Communication Systems
(Section to be expanded.)
Banks and Finance
(Section to be expanded.)
To Love, Live, and Die in Low‑Tech
(Section to be expanded.)
Rubbish Bin?
(Section to be expanded.)
Energy
(Section to be expanded.)
Is Transition Possible?
Status Quo
(Section to be expanded.)
Wait‑and‑See vs. Survivalism
(Section to be expanded.)
Issue of Employment
(Section to be expanded.)
Scale
(Section to be expanded.)
Moral Questions
(Section to be expanded.)
How to Make Transition Desirable
(Section to be expanded.)
Positive Note
(Section to be expanded.)
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