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.