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Anton Howes

What Anton Howes thinks about energy

@anton-howes · 10 positions · 1 change of mind · On ppll ↗

Historian of innovation, writing the newsletter Age of Invention on the causes of the British Industrial Revolution and on how inventions actually came about.

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Only Anton Howes on energy. See everyone on energy

4 dated positions, 2023 to 2025, in their own words. Our reading of what Anton Howes has said — not written or endorsed by them.

4 positions so far — this page is not yet offered to search engines.

  1. Our reading · no longer heldEngland switched from wood to coal because deforestation had made firewood scarce.

    Recalls holdingAs I set out last time, the usual story — that this was caused by deforestation, making firewood so scarce that people resorted to burning an inferior but cheaper fuel — simply does not stack up.

    SaidI had long believed this narrative, and have even helped spread it.

    ↗Age of Invention: How Coal Really Wonageofinvention.xyz 1st of 3 in this piece

  3. Our readingEngland's deforestation was a consequence of cheap coal rather than its cause.

    Their wordsEngland’s deforestation — along with the draining of its peat-filled fens and marshes, and the clearing of its gorse-growing heaths — was instead itself caused by the arrival of cheap coal.

    ↗Age of Invention: How Coal Really Wonageofinvention.xyz 2nd of 3 in this piece

  5. Our readingLondon did not lead England into coal: coal spread outwards from the Newcastle coalfield, and London was one of the last places to take it up.

    Their wordsFar from being the laboratory that brought coal into the home, then, London was actually a laggard — all the more so given it had been buying coal from Newcastle for centuries.

    ↗Age of Invention: How Coal Really Wonageofinvention.xyz 3rd of 3 in this piece

  6. 16 months earlier

  7. Our readingThe Dutch Golden Age did not end for want of energy: peat and grain were cheaper than ever while its industries were collapsing.

    Their wordsThe Dutch Republic’s Golden Age did not fail because it lacked energy sources.

    ↗Age of Invention: Lessons from the Rise of Coalageofinvention.xyz 3rd of 3 in this piece