Why is the global economy constrained by the energy cost of
energy? from GETTING DOWN TO EARTH: Practical Applications of
Ecological Economics, Island Press, 1996; ISBN 1-55963-503-7
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1559635037 Historical
knowledge is essential to practical applications of ecological
economics. Systems of problem solving develop greater complexity
and higher costs over long periods. In time such systems either
require increasing energy subsidies or they collapse.
Diminishing returns to complexity in problem solving limited the
abilities of earlier societies to respond sustainably to
challenges, and will shape contemporary responses to global
change. To confront this dilemma we must understand both the
role of energy in sustaining problem solving, and our historical
position in systems of increasing complexity. In our quest to
understand sustainability we have rushed to comprehend such
factors as energy transformations, biophysical constraints, and
environmental deterioration, as well as