ABSTRACT
Since the advent of humankind, energy supply has had a decisive
influence on its social development, since it sets the social and
economic framework within which people live. In terms of energy
use, human history to date can be roughly divided into three periods:
the age of the hunters and gatherers, the “pre-industrial solar age”,
and the “fossil/nuclear industrial age”. We are currently moving
towards a fourth period: the industrial solar age.
