This is chapter 1 of my book, based upon my dissertation. I published the introduction earlier. As I work through the different chapters I will publish them here and welcome any feedback. Fossil Fuels as The Escape From Ecological Limits The scale and complexity of any organism, whether it is an individual or a combination of many organisms (e.g. a bacteria, an ant hill or a human society), is dependent upon the supply of energy to that organism; increases in scale and complexity tend to require increases in energy inputs (Tainter 1988; Zotin & Pokrovskii 2018; Smil 2019). Following from this, economic growth and development require that energy and other resources be extracted from the environment to manufacture goods, provide services, and create capital; “The central role of energy is substantiated by both theory and data” (Brown et. al 2011, p. 19). Prior to the industrial revolution, and the exploitation of fossil fuels, human societies were limited by their ability to harness the energy of the sun through photosynthesis for food and animal feed, conversion of that energy to heat through fire, and to a much lesser extent watermills and windmills (Hall & Klitgaard 2012; Smil 2017). The history of human civilization prior to the eighteenth century is one of repeated developments of complex societies, followed by repeated collapses of those societies. Morris (2011) developed an index of social development and noted that only three civilizations could be identified as reaching the low 40s on his index: those of the Roman Empire, the Song Dynasty, and modern civilization. About six hundred years separate the first two, and five hundred years the latter two. Morris notes:
I’m keen to see how your arguments develop. Thanks