Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
2.
in the dry European agriculture, the utilisation of animals in agriculture and
transportation was more widespread than elsewhere. In both China and southern
America, the presence of animals in agriculture was far more modest. In pre-
modern centuries, probably only in India was animal power exploited to the
same extent as in Europe.
1.4.1 The Start of the Energy Transition
Modern growth, from about 1820 until today, has marked a sharp rise both in the
sources utilized and in the ef
ciency of their utilization.
12
We could de
ne this
change as an energy transition. It was an important support to the growth in the
capacity to produce. Although not suf
cient condition of modern growth, energy
transition was a necessary condition.
13
Without this transition, modern growth
could not occur. As has been seen, although some other deep changes occurred in
the use of energy before the modern era, this last transition is often represented, for
its rapidity and intensity, as the
“
”
transition
par excellence or the period that marked
a break between past and present.
Fossil sources, coal, oil, natural gas, were also products of photosynthetic
processes, such as food and rewood. Their formation had taken place in the Car-
boniferous era, some 300
350 million years ago. This underground forest had been
mineralized or transformed into liquid fuel and gas in the course of several mil-
lennia.
14
In various parts of the world and in England and other northern European
regions, coal was easily extracted. If by the start of the epoch of fossil fuels we refer
to the period when they began to develop, the second half of the 16th century could
be de
-
ned as the starting point. It was then that they began to be employed on a large
scale by English manufacturers and for domestic use. If, instead, we want to single
out the epoch when they began to play an important role on the European and non
European economy, this age is the
rst half of the 19th century.
The existence of fossil fuels had been known in Europe since the times of ancient
Rome. During the late Middle Ages, in those northern European regions where coal
was easily available, its consumption spread, as its price was far lower than that of
rewood. In China coal was also widely used in metallurgy during the late Middle
Ages. From the second half of the 16th century, the use of coal increased in
England, above all. The rising population and particularly that of London repre-
sented a strong stimulus towards the consumption of a much less expensive fuel
than
8 times
between 1530 and 1630, thanks to the greater depth of the shafts and better drainage
rewood. In the whole of England the production of coal increased 7
-
12
On this phase in the history of energy see the still useful article by Bairoch (
1983
) and
particularly Kander et al. (
2013
). A brief, useful reconstruction is that provided by Gr
ü
bler (
2004
).
13
Malanima (
2012
).
14
On the transition to fossil sources of energy, it is useful Sieferle (
2001
).
