Physically and chemically, these four materials are distinguished by an enormous diversity of properties and functions. But despite these differences in attributes and specific uses, they share more than their indispensability for the functioning of modern societies. They are needed in larger (and still increasing) quantities than are other

while our latest monitoring and modeling are certainly more advanced, there is nothing new either about our understanding of the greenhouse effect or about the consequences of steadily increasing emissions of greenhouse gases: in principle, we have been aware of them for more than 150 years, and in a clear and explicit manner for more than a

There is no shortage of fossil fuel resources in the Earth’s crust, no danger of imminently running out of coal and hydrocarbons: at the 2020 level of production, coal reserves would last for about 120 years, oil and gas reserves for about 50 years, and continued exploration would transfer more of them from the resource to the reserve (technically

This book is an attempt to reduce the comprehension deficit, to explain some of the most fundamental ruling realities governing our survival and our prosperity.

The real wrench in the works: we are a fossil-fueled civilization whose technical and scientific advances, quality of life, and prosperity rest on the combustion of huge quantities of fossil carbon, and we cannot simply walk away from this critical determinant of our fortunes in a few decades, never mind years. Complete decarbonization of the

at the very beginning of the 18th century, some English mines begin to rely on steam engines, the first inanimate prime movers powered by the combustion of fossil fuel.

After decades of the Cold War, the USSR began to unravel during the late 1980s. Its satellite states detached themselves first (the Berlin Wall fell on November 9, 1989), and the Soviet state was officially dissolved on December 26, 1991.[69] For the first time in history, it became possible for every major economy to become open (still to varying,

There are obvious opportunities for running field machinery without fossil fuels. Decarbonized irrigation could become common with pumps powered by solar-

70 percent of wasted food was perfectly edible and was not consumed either because it spoiled or because too much of it was served.