Dependence on Fossil Fuels: The Fossil Fuel Era

The global dependence on fossil fuels developed during the Industrial Revolution, two centuries of economic and social development that transformed the way modern humans work and live. Most historians agree that the Industrial Revolution began in the early 1700s in Great Britain when machinery began to replace manual labor and animal power, and fossil fuels replaced wind, water, and wood as main energy sources. Before this period in history, humans manufactured goods by hand or using very simple machines, and most people worked at their homes, which were typically located in rural areas. (more…)

Technology Innovation and Invention for Energy Efficiency

Now it is possible to move back in the process of technological change from diffusion to innovation. In the energy efficiency area, it is helpful to think of the innovation process as affecting improvements in the attributes or characteristics of products. This process is represented as the shifting inward over time of a curve representing the trade-offs between different product characteristics for the range of products available on the market. (more…)