The Nexus of Population, Energy, Innovation, and Complexity.
For the past 200 years, humans have benefited from the abundant, inexpensive, and easily obtained energy of fossil fuels. Energy surpluses such as this are unusual in human history. In systems with little surplus energy, population growth is low and complexity emerges slowly due to the energetic cos...
| Publicado en: | American Journal of Economics & Sociology Vol. 75; no. 4; pp. 1005 - 1044 |
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| Autores principales: | , |
| Formato: | Artículo |
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Wiley-Blackwell
Sep2016
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| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ssf&AN=117924445&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ssf uiTerm: 117924445 longDbName: Social Sciences Full Text (H.W. Wilson) uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 00029246 AES jtl: American Journal of Economics & Sociology issn: 00029246 maglogo: Y pubinfo: dt: Sep2016 vid: 75 iid: 4 pid: 480 pub: Wiley-Blackwell artinfo: ui: 117924445 10.1111/ajes.12162 ppf: 1005 ppct: 39 formats: fmt: – @attributes: type: T – @attributes: type: P size: 513KB tig: atl: The Nexus of Population, Energy, Innovation, and Complexity. aug: au: Taylor, Temis G. Tainter, Joseph A. su: Population Energy consumption Green Revolution Solar energy Fossil fuels sug: subj: Population Energy consumption Green Revolution Solar energy Solar Electric Power Generation Fossil fuels ab: For the past 200 years, humans have benefited from the abundant, inexpensive, and easily obtained energy of fossil fuels. Energy surpluses such as this are unusual in human history. In systems with little surplus energy, population growth is low and complexity emerges slowly due to the energetic costs it carries. On the rare occasions when energy is readily available, societies respond by growing rapidly. They must become more complex in response to the social, economic, and resource challenges of dense population. More complex societies are more expensive, requiring greater energy per capita. The process of increasing complexity necessitates greater energy production, creating a positive feedback cycle. Past societies have collapsed under such pressures. Population and complexity grew rapidly when the Industrial Revolution replaced economies based on annual solar radiation with economies fueled by fossil energy. The Green Revolution of the 20 century is credited with preventing mass starvation, but it has made food production and sustaining population ever-more dependent on high-energy (low-entropy) inputs. Some believe innovation will overcome the limitations of resources and permit unchecked growth. However, increases in complexity, innovation, and fossil energy are all subject to diminishing returns, and cannot continue to support population at current levels. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: N holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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