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.