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/464145/more-and-more-and-more-by-fressoz-jean-baptiste/9780241718896 Listen to Decouple on: • Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6PNr3ml8nEQotWWavE9kQz • Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/decouple/id1516526694?uo=4 • Overcast: https://overcast.fm/itunes1516526694/decouple • 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