The "Energy Transition" is a Myth

Jean-Baptiste Fressoz, a French historian of science and technology, challenges our understanding of energy history. In this episode, he unravels the myth of energy transitions, revealing the symbiotic relationships between coal, wood, and oil that have shaped our world in unexpected ways.

Pre-order Fressoz's book: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/46414...

Listen to Decouple on:
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6PNr3ml...
• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...
• Overcast: https://overcast.fm/itunes1516526694/...
• Podcket Casts: https://pca.st/ehbfrn44
• RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/23775178/podcast/rss

Website: https://www.decouple.media

Chapters:
00:00 Intro
01:08 Book: More and More and More
04:16 Energy symbiosis
07:51 The symbiosis of wood and coal
12:20 Of coal and oil
22:15 Of wood and oil
26:06 Are we burning more wood than ever?
28:33 Drax Power Plant
35:33 Raw materials never go out of fashion
37:31 Oil didn't save the whales
41:09 The atomic origins of "energy transition"
49:51 Hydropower hope
53:01 Utopianism
1:00:23 Climbing down the energy ladder
1:06:33 Too little too late: the need for climate adaptation
1:16:46 Book publication date