Contrasting Transitions

In this chapter of the virtual exhibition “Energy Transitions,” historian Nuno Luís Madureira writes about different kinds of energy-regime shifts and their preconditions.

Energy Transitions

Human practices of energy consumption both transform—and are transformed by—social structures. This exhibition—written by historian Nuno Luís Madureira—introduces the concept of “energy transitions,” structural shifts in energy use and their pathways, obstacles, and consequences, challenging the view of “transitions” as the simple replacement of one energy resource by another.

by Nuno Luís Madureira

About the author

Madureira, Nuno Luís

Lisbon University Institute (ISCTE), Portugal

Nuno Luís Madureira is professor at the History Department of the Lisbon University Institute, former visiting scholar at UC Berkeley and Harvard University, and referee of the European Science Foundation. With several publications in the fields of contemporary global history, history of technology and energy and environmental policy, his last book is entitled Key Concepts in Energy (Heidelberg and New York: Springer, 2014). His most recent research embraces the analysis of historical methods and nuclear technologies, particularly the plutonium fuel cycle.

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Histories of Transitions

In this chapter of the virtual exhibition “Energy Transitions,” historian Nuno Luís Madureira argues that the study of such transitions itself has gone through changes over the course of history.

Energy Transitions

Human practices of energy consumption both transform—and are transformed by—social structures. This exhibition—written by historian Nuno Luís Madureira—introduces the concept of “energy transitions,” structural shifts in energy use and their pathways, obstacles, and consequences, challenging the view of “transitions” as the simple replacement of one energy resource by another.

by Nuno Luís Madureira

About the author

Madureira, Nuno Luís

Lisbon University Institute (ISCTE), Portugal

Nuno Luís Madureira is professor at the History Department of the Lisbon University Institute, former visiting scholar at UC Berkeley and Harvard University, and referee of the European Science Foundation. With several publications in the fields of contemporary global history, history of technology and energy and environmental policy, his last book is entitled Key Concepts in Energy (Heidelberg and New York: Springer, 2014). His most recent research embraces the analysis of historical methods and nuclear technologies, particularly the plutonium fuel cycle.

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Recommended Reading

Historian Nuno Luís Madureira recommends literature related to the virtual exhibition “Energy Transitions.”

Energy Transitions

Human practices of energy consumption both transform—and are transformed by—social structures. This exhibition—written by historian Nuno Luís Madureira—introduces the concept of “energy transitions,” structural shifts in energy use and their pathways, obstacles, and consequences, challenging the view of “transitions” as the simple replacement of one energy resource by another.

by Nuno Luís Madureira

About the author

Madureira, Nuno Luís

Lisbon University Institute (ISCTE), Portugal

Nuno Luís Madureira is professor at the History Department of the Lisbon University Institute, former visiting scholar at UC Berkeley and Harvard University, and referee of the European Science Foundation. With several publications in the fields of contemporary global history, history of technology and energy and environmental policy, his last book is entitled Key Concepts in Energy (Heidelberg and New York: Springer, 2014). His most recent research embraces the analysis of historical methods and nuclear technologies, particularly the plutonium fuel cycle.

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Zivilgesellschaft und Protest: Eine Geschichte der Naturschutz- und Umweltbewegung in Bayern 1945–1980

Through examining topics of nuclear energy and tourism, Zivilgesellschaft und Protest portrays the transitions towards radicalism in the Bavarian environmental movement from the end of the Second World War to the late 1970s.

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“It Was a Blast!”—Camp Life on Christmas Island, 1956–1958

by Becky Alexis-Martin

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Arcadia, Autumn 2016, no. 19

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Environmental Knowledge and Environmental Politics in Portugal: From Resistance to Incorporation

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Perspectives Issue 2016/4

This article traces the development of environmentalism in Portugal, and particularly the role of environmental NGOs as producers of expert knowledge to be used in policy making. The Portuguese environmental movement has professionalized rather than formalizing as green political parties. Portuguese environmentalism has adapted and evolved under authoritarian regimes, neoliberalism, European integration, and the financial crisis.

Environmental Knowledge, Environmental Politics: Case Studies from Canada and Western Europe

About this issue

These essays showcase examples from Canada and Western Europe, offering insights into how different forms of environmental knowledge and environmental politics come to be seen as legitimate or illegitimate.

Content

The Road

Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Cormac McCarthy, The Road portrays a father and son struggling to survive in a post-apocalytic world turned savage.

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Katiyabaaz [Powerless]

Powerless is a film about India’s energy poverty and the people’s desperate measures to create functioning infrastructure. Electricity “thieves” divert power to homes and small businesses and come head-to-head with electricity supply companies.

Read more about Katiyabaaz [Powerless]

Die 4. Revolution: Energie Autonomie [The 4th Revolution: Energy Autonomy]

This film envisions a restructuring of global power relations and calls for individual action in order to create a 100 percent renewable energy economy.

Read more about Die 4. Revolution: Energie Autonomie [The 4th Revolution: Energy Autonomy]