Additions, Transitions, and Zombie Energy: History and the End of Fossil Fuels
Has there ever been an energy transition? Historians have increasingly suggested that the answer to this question is ‘no’—that, while history is rife with examples of new energy technologies and new fuels, there are vanishingly few examples of humans abandoning an energy source. Instead, the majority of the time, a newly exploited or invented form of energy is simply added into the existing energy mixture, and wood, coal, oil, and gas continue to be used. In this talk, I will share my research on historical and contemporary trends in energy use, and what the implications are for present-day planning toward a green energy economy. Do our modern efforts have any historical parallels? What has historically been a driver of adopting or abandoning energy forms? How can we ensure that the adoption of renewable energy does more than merely displace fossil fuels?
Speaker
Robert Suits is a Lecturer in Environmental History at UCL. He earned his PhD from the University of Chicago before holding postdoctoral positions at the University of Calgary and at the University of Edinburgh. His work focuses on energy, climate, and labor. His first book, The Hobo: An Environmental History, explores how migrant work in the industrial United States developed in response to energy transitions and climate disasters; he is also the lead researcher on a wide-ranging digital history project exploring energy transitions across U.S. history.
About Energy Futures Lab
Energy Futures Lab is one of seven Global Institutes at Imperial College London. The institute was established to address global energy challenges by identifying and leading new opportunities to serve industry, government and society at large through high quality research, evidence and advocacy for positive change. The institute aims to promote energy innovation and advance systemic solutions for a sustainable energy future by bringing together the science, engineering and policy expertise at Imperial and fostering collaboration with a wide variety of external partners.