Power to the People examines the varied but interconnected
relationships between energy consumption and economic development in
Europe over the last five centuries. It describes how the traditional
energy economy of medieval and early modern Europe was marked by
stable or falling per capita energy consumption, and how the First
Industrial Revolution in the eighteenth century--fueled by coal and
steam engines--redrew the economic, social, and geopolitical map of
Europe and the world. The Second Industrial Revolution continued this
energy expansion and social transformation through the use of oil and
electricity, but after 1970 Europe entered a new stage in which energy
consumption has stabilized. This book challenges the view that the
outsourcing of heavy industry overseas is the cause, arguing that a
Third Industrial Revolution driven by new information and
communication technologies has played a major stabilizing role. Power
to the People offers new perspectives on the challenges posed today by
climate change and peak oil, demonstrating that although the path of
modern economic development has vastly increased our energy use, it
has not been a story of ever-rising and continuous consumption. The
book sheds light on the often lengthy and complex changes needed for
new energy systems to emerge, the role of energy resources in economic
growth, and the importance of energy efficiency in promoting growth
and reducing future energy demand.
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Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9781400848881
Publisert
2013
Utgiver
Vendor
Princeton University Press
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok