Material World: The Six Raw Materials That Shape Modern Civilization

by Ed Conway

This was not just an industrial revolution, but a material revolution and, most of all, an energy revolution—the first great energy transition, with humankind shifting from wood and charcoal power to fossil power. By the beginning of the nineteenth century, most of the industries in Britain were powered by coal. This was, it’s worth saying, quite unique. In 1800, 95 per cent of Britain’s energy came from coal; at the very same point, almost all of France’s energy—over 90 per cent—still came from burning wood. No longer was Britain yoked to the organic limitations of how many trees could be grown on its landmass. And around this time, its income per capita, which for most of history had been more or less the same as France’s, began to soar. By the early nineteenth century it was 80 per cent richer than France.[7] Perhaps the simplest way to illustrate the importance of this energy transition—this rupture with humankind’s natural constraints—is to ask what life would look like today if we ditched coal and coke from our blast furnaces and returned to using wood and charcoal instead? After all, some countries, most notably Brazil, still use lots of charcoal instead of coke, so it’s theoretically doable—until you run the numbers. For replacing all the coke for Britain’s 30 megatons of steel consumption would necessitate using nearly half the surface of the UK purely for charcoal production. To do the same thing for global steel production would entail chopping down half of the ...