History – Energy Transition https://energytransition.org The Global Energiewende Mon, 04 Mar 2019 11:49:08 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.1.1 Craig Morris bids this project farewell https://energytransition.org/2018/04/craig-morris-bids-this-project-farewell/ https://energytransition.org/2018/04/craig-morris-bids-this-project-farewell/#comments Mon, 09 Apr 2018 13:00:08 +0000 https://energytransition.org/?p=17042 Since this website was launched in 2012, Craig Morris has been its main blogger and the lead author of its annually updated e-book. Four updates and more than 400 blog posts later, he is moving on to work for the Renewables Grid Initiative. Today, he bids us farewell. Craig is moving on, but he is optimistic about the energy transition’s future (Photo by Karsten Wurth, Public Domain) In my...

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]]> https://energytransition.org/2018/04/craig-morris-bids-this-project-farewell/feed/ 15 For many in Puerto Rico, ‘energy dominance’ is just a new name for US colonialism https://energytransition.org/2017/11/for-many-in-puerto-rico-energy-dominance-is-just-a-new-name-for-us-colonialism/ https://energytransition.org/2017/11/for-many-in-puerto-rico-energy-dominance-is-just-a-new-name-for-us-colonialism/#comments Fri, 03 Nov 2017 14:00:02 +0000 https://energytransition.org/?p=16024 The Trump administration has insisted on ‘energy dominance’ as its main goal, focusing on fossil fuels at the expense of renewable energies like wind and solar. For Puerto Ricans, however, energy dominance sounds more like expansionism. Catalina M. de Onís explains the history of oil and power between the US and Puerto Rico. The legacies of Puerto Rico’s rapid industrialization include polluted...

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]]> https://energytransition.org/2017/11/for-many-in-puerto-rico-energy-dominance-is-just-a-new-name-for-us-colonialism/feed/ 2 The modern wind sector – and the Energiewende – turns 30 today https://energytransition.org/2017/08/the-modern-wind-sector-and-the-energiewende-turns-30-today/ https://energytransition.org/2017/08/the-modern-wind-sector-and-the-energiewende-turns-30-today/#comments Thu, 24 Aug 2017 13:00:11 +0000 https://energytransition.org/?p=15623 When was the Energiewende born? Lots of dates are tossed around, but one German press report argues that it all started today 30 years ago, when a test wind farm was connected to the grid. Craig Morris says it’s as good a starting point as any for Germany’s energy transition, but the project really launched the global wind power sector. The global wind sector’s humble beginnings – small...

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]]> https://energytransition.org/2017/08/the-modern-wind-sector-and-the-energiewende-turns-30-today/feed/ 2 Are renewables good for democracy? Not necessarily. https://energytransition.org/2017/08/are-renewables-good-for-democracy-not-necessarily/ https://energytransition.org/2017/08/are-renewables-good-for-democracy-not-necessarily/#comments Fri, 18 Aug 2017 13:00:01 +0000 https://energytransition.org/?p=15570 In Carbon Democracy, Timothy Mitchell describes how people’s ability to sabotage the economic system strengthened democracy. Craig Morris wonders what the future holds – and if the year 2050 might be cleaner, but also less democratic. Citizen energy – made possible by renewables – is coming under attack. (Source: Bündnis Bürgerenergie e.V., Jörg Farys) This is part four of a series on democracy...

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]]> https://energytransition.org/2017/08/are-renewables-good-for-democracy-not-necessarily/feed/ 1 “Free trade” should be called “forced trade” https://energytransition.org/2017/08/free-trade-should-be-called-forced-trade/ https://energytransition.org/2017/08/free-trade-should-be-called-forced-trade/#comments Thu, 17 Aug 2017 14:25:56 +0000 https://energytransition.org/?p=15546 Timothy Mitchell’s Carbon Democracy says that our fossil fuel consumption has shaped the state of our democracies in ways poorly understood. A look at the role of the oil sector from colonialism until today sheds light on the impact. Craig Morris takes a look. As oil resources entered the foreground, ‘forced trade’ became the norm. (Photo by John Messina via the US EPA, edited.) This is part three...

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]]> https://energytransition.org/2017/08/free-trade-should-be-called-forced-trade/feed/ 2 How coal and oil impact democracy differently https://energytransition.org/2017/08/how-coal-and-oil-impact-democracy-differently/ https://energytransition.org/2017/08/how-coal-and-oil-impact-democracy-differently/#respond Tue, 15 Aug 2017 13:36:32 +0000 https://energytransition.org/?p=15540 Because it was vulnerable to worker sabotage, the coal sector provided an environment in which democracy could grow stronger, at least up until the mid-20 th century, when oil began to replace it – not only as a source of fuel, but as a way of keeping democratic demands in check. Craig Morris goes in-depth. Coal depended on workers, and they could make democratic demands. (Photo via Wikipedia...

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]]> https://energytransition.org/2017/08/how-coal-and-oil-impact-democracy-differently/feed/ 0 McJihad: how fossil fuel has shaped western democracies https://energytransition.org/2017/08/mcjihad-how-fossil-fuel-has-shaped-western-democracies/ https://energytransition.org/2017/08/mcjihad-how-fossil-fuel-has-shaped-western-democracies/#comments Mon, 14 Aug 2017 13:00:27 +0000 https://energytransition.org/?p=15531 In Carbon Democracy, Timothy Mitchell calls into question our simplistic notions of why there is democracy in some countries and not in others. He claims that vulnerabilities in the coal sector opened up opportunities for democracy to advance, but in the past hundred years the rise of oil sector was exploited to undercut it. Craig Morris has the details. Coal strikes forced the powerful to listen...

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]]> https://energytransition.org/2017/08/mcjihad-how-fossil-fuel-has-shaped-western-democracies/feed/ 4 People want fewer cars in cities. Not everyone knows it yet. https://energytransition.org/2017/07/people-want-fewer-cars-in-cities-not-everyone-knows-it-yet/ https://energytransition.org/2017/07/people-want-fewer-cars-in-cities-not-everyone-knows-it-yet/#comments Wed, 26 Jul 2017 13:00:03 +0000 https://energytransition.org/?p=15411 Whenever we talk about getting cities back from cars, there’s pushback. Don’t people love their cars? Don’t we have cities built for cars because that’s what people wanted? Not exactly. Today, Craig Morris takes a look at the German town of Freiburg, and how citizens are taking their streets back. Jakarta goes car-free once a month – but imagine the quality of life if the streets were always like...

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]]> https://energytransition.org/2017/07/people-want-fewer-cars-in-cities-not-everyone-knows-it-yet/feed/ 5 Marginalizing the “strict-father” camp https://energytransition.org/2017/02/marginalizing-the-strict-father-camp/ https://energytransition.org/2017/02/marginalizing-the-strict-father-camp/#comments Wed, 15 Feb 2017 14:00:22 +0000 https://energytransition.org/?p=14521 In two recent posts, Craig Morris shed light on US linguist George Lakoff’s proposal for environmentalists to frame their issues properly. Today, he sums up why framing is too America-centric. He wishes everyone would copy Germany’s Vergangenheitsbewältigung – a faithfulness to the truth in combating alt-facts. And if you ever wondered how feminism benefits men, read on.

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]]> https://energytransition.org/2017/02/marginalizing-the-strict-father-camp/feed/ 3 To save the planet, we must overcome racism https://energytransition.org/2016/12/13662/ https://energytransition.org/2016/12/13662/#comments Wed, 21 Dec 2016 18:00:46 +0000 https://energytransition.org/?p=13662 Lots of people seem to have experienced 2016 as a terrible year, metaphysically if not personally. Today, Craig Morris signs off with his own Word of the Year for 2017. Just in time for the new year, it’s time to take a good look at how we got here–and then spark a change (Public Domain) Did 2016 ring in the post-factual era? “Post-faktisch” was just chosen as Germany’s Word of the Year.

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