James Howard Kunstler paid a compliment to the city of Eau Claire, although one it probably didn’t want to hear.

“This town has done an amazing job of committing suicide,” Kunstler said.

Such was the theme for Kunstler’s presentation “The Long Emergency: The Converging Catastrophes of the 21st Century” Thursday in Zorn Arena. Those looking for a message of inspiration and hope for the future found no such things in his biting and often fiery speech.

Kunstler has written extensively on what he believes to be the fall of the American lifestyle. He authored “The Geography of Nowhere,” “The Long Emergency” and his new novel, “World Made by Hand,” an imagined account of life following the end of oil.

He outlined what he believes is going to happen to the United States after the world’s oil production reaches its peak, meaning the process of extracting oil from the ground will cost more than it can be sold for. After this point, Kunstler said there will be a drastic change in how the country’s economy, infrastructure and communication are run.

With a lack of oil imports and production, the United States is going to have to move toward a rural, agrarian society, he said. The sprawling cities and suburbs that dot the country will not be feasible, Kunstler argued, requiring more centralized communities and economies.

“We have to make these changes,” he said. “It’s not a matter of if we like it or don’t like it.”

Eau Claire is as guilty as any other city across the country of not planning for the end of the high-energy use era, he said. Strip malls, car dealerships and other buildings on the outstretches of town won’t survive long after passing the peak oil point.

People should not hope for alternative fuels to take the place of oil, Kunstler said. He said the current American lifestyle of high-energy usage will not be feasible in the near future.

“No combination of alternative fuels are going to permit us to run stuff were running the way we’re running it,” he said.

Senior Cecilia Artola said she found Kunstler’s speech to be overly pessimistic and lacking hope.

“He wants to send us back to the 19th Century instead of forward,” Artola said. “I don’t think things are going to turn out that way.”

But Kunstler warned of hoping solutions will come that will allow the industrialized world to continue its way of life.

“It’s not healthy for people to believe they can get something for nothing,” he said, referring to what he called a “delusional” culture of wishful thinking.

Kunstler said he could offer no solutions for those who wanted to take something hopeful away from his speech.

“You have to generate the hope yourself.”