1. In the heat of the past : towards a history of the fossil economy -- 2. Scarcity, progress, the nature of the human species? Theories of the rise of steam -- 3. The long life of the flow : industrial energy before coal -- 4, "There are mighty energies in those masses" : mobilising power in a time of crisis -- 5. Puzzles of the transition : the lasting advantages of water -- 6. Fleeing the flowing commons : the expansion of waterpower that never happened -- 7. A ticket to the town : advantages of steam in space -- 8. A force to count on : advantages of steam in time -- 9. "No government but fuel" : the derivation of power from coal in bourgeois ideology -- 10. "Go and stop the smoke!" : the moment of resistance against steam -- 11. A long trail of smoke : the fossil economy consummated -- 12. The myth of the human enterprise : towards a different theory -- 13. Fossil capital : the energy basis of bourgeois property relations -- 14. China as a chimney of the world : fossil capital today -- 15. A return to the flow? Obstacles to the transition -- 16. Time to pull the plugs : on CO2 as an effluent of power

"How capitalism first promoted fossil fuels with the rise of steam power The more we debate about the catastrophic implications of climate change, the more fossil fuels we continue to burn. How did we get caught up in this mess? In this masterful new history, Malm claims that it all began in Britain with the rise of steam power. So why did manufacturers turn from traditional fuels, notably water, to steam? Overturning established theories of the transition and offering a radically new view of our warming world, this study shows how steam was adopted as a superior source of power. Two centuries later, the inheritors of that power continue to profit from "business as usual," as the world heads toward irreversible catastrophe. Malm examines the history of resistance to fossil fuels and surveys the obstacles to the transition to renewable energy so urgently needed today. Then as now, energy choices are determined in struggles over power"-- Provided by publisher.

"How capitalism first promoted fossil fuels with the rise of steam power The more we debate about the catastrophic implications of climate change, the more fossil fuels we continue to burn. How did we get caught up in this mess? In this masterful new history, Malm claims that it all began in Britain with the rise of steam power. So why did manufacturers turn from traditional fuels, notably water, to steam? Overturning established theories of the transition and offering a radically new view of our warming world, this study shows how steam was adopted as a superior source of power. Two centuries later, the inheritors of that power continue to profit from "business as usual," as the world heads toward irreversible catastrophe. Malm examines the history of resistance to fossil fuels and surveys the obstacles to the transition to renewable energy so urgently needed today. Then as now, energy choices are determined in struggles over power"-- Provided by publisher.