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Cross section of stream train locomotive engine. Arrows show the flow of energy, coal, and movement through the train as the wheels rotate, and the smoke escapes through the chimney of the train.
Cartoon old man driving a car, looking out the window to the car beside him in traffic. From the comic Energy Slaves.

Energy underpins everything that we do as a society. Without energy, nothing happens. Literally.

I am fascinated by the role of energy in the history of human civilisation. As we developed from hunter-gatherers, through to modern industrial economies, we have progressively commandeered more and more energy to do our work.

Primitive humans impacted the world with both mind and muscle. Today we are just the minds. Fossil fuels are the muscle that we use to do today’s work for us.

Our next challenge, as a society, is understanding where our energy will come from once fossil fuels become unavailable or uneconomic. We must also contain global warming – the planetary hangover of human industrial energy consumption.

Below are some of my favourite comics and essays on the topic of energy.

Peak Oil

Roughly half of the world’s entire oil supply is gone; half is left. How will our society choose to use the oil that remains? Comic about M. King Hubbert and his 'peak oil' theory of fossil fuel depletion.

Energy Slaves

How many invisible "energy slave" workers does it take to fuel our modern lifestyles? A comic about Buckminster Fuller and fossil fuels.

Energy

The making of Peak Oil #1: my choice of topic

I explain my decision to draw a comic about Peak Oil. I describe my aim to make my comic 'the ultimate Peak Oil primer' for uninformed readers.

Buckminster Fuller’s Chilling Domes

Exactly 75 summers ago, Buckminster Fuller accidentally discovered a self-air conditioning house. How did he do it?

Buckminster Fuller’s Chilling Domes: the physics

I discuss the physics behind my comic about Buckminster Fuller's Chilling Domes. Is the phenomenon real? I outline the evidence for and against.

Panoramic cartoon image of a man riding in a rollercoaster car looking out of the city of Las Vegas. Showing the city below, the horizon, the nearby buildings, and renewable energy being generated by wind farm turbines.