Energy transitions
by Vaclav Smil · first published 2010
100% recommend
Contrary to common impression, global energy use in the 19th century was dominated by wood, not coal; and in the 20th century by coal, not oil. Not until 1964 did oil overtake coal as the world's prime mover. Even today, coal provides the world more energy than natural gas. Energy Transitions: History, Requirements, Prospects shows that any energy transition -- the interval between the introduction of a new primary energy source and its rise to 20-30 percent of a national or global energy market -- takes decades or even centuries. Energy transitions are inherently complex and intractably prolo
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…suggest some reading material. Technology is dependent on energy, not the other way 'round. Vaclav Smil, Energy in World History http://www.worldcat.org/title/energy-in-world-history/oclc/4... Smil's Energy Transitions addresses switching between primary sources of energy: http://www.worldcat.org/title/energy-transitions-history-req... Manfred Weissenbacher, Sources of Power, in two volumes: http://www.worldcat.org/title/before-oil-the-ages-of-foragin...…
on “Saudi Arabia's Oil Wealth Is About to Get a Reality Check” ↗If that's more than an idle question, I'd recommend Vaclav Smil's Energy Transitions: http://www.worldcat.org/title/energy-transitions-history-req... The same author has just updated his book on energy in world history, this past May. I've read the earlier version and it is excellent,…
on “How the Oil Pipeline Began” ↗…sustainability from a technical perspective, largely looking backwards though with some forward-looking elements. I particularly recommend Energy in World History (1992, 2019) and Energy and Civilization (2017). Energy Transitions (2016) tackles the specific question of converting to a sustainable-energy path: <Energy Transitions>. And there's a long list of other Smil publications. Kate Rayworth's Doughnut Economics is another…
on “Tidal Energy Is Not Renewable” ↗…disposed off. Recommended reading: "Sustainable Energy – Without the Hot Air" by Sir David John Cameron MacKay https://withouthotair.com/ Books by Vaclav Smil: Energy and Civilization: A History Energy Transitions: Global and National Perspectives How the World Really Works "Why Nuclear Power Has Been A Flop" - The Gordian Knot of the 21st Century https://gordianknotbook.com/ There are still big hydrocarbon…
on “Solar panels at Lidl? Plug-in versions set to appear in shops” ↗