Handbook of Energy

Introduction

The Impacts theme reflects the fact that the planet and the organisms on it are profoundly affected by the ways in which energy is found, extracted, produced, transported, consumed, stored, disposed of, and so on. The impacts of human energy use were noted even in early history, as by the ancient Greeks. However, energy impacts became truly evident, and thus a significant cause for concern, from the early 19th century onward because the advent of the Industrial Age (and the concomitant increase in global population) greatly increased the demand for energy.

Impacts begins with a section describing how shortages of energy supply and energy depletion have affected so-ciety, followed by a section identifying wars and conflicts that were ...