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"The heart of the contemporary argument on climate change and energy transition focuses on how energy supply should be decarbonized to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. This book proposes an alternative approach. The Age of Fire is Over: A New Approach to the Energy Transition finds that energy transitions are not driven by supply-side driven transformations, but rather by evolutions in demand patterns. This author argues that - contrary to common thought - the so-called Energy Transition has not yet started. Exploring the potential of recently emerged key technologies, The Age of Fire is Over examines the extent to which key technologies can significantly transform demand, i.e., provide the same service at a fraction of cost or offer new services not yet imagined. The conclusion is that, to a large extent, energy paradigm shifts are beneficial for society and inevitable: leading to lower costs, more jobs, and fast adaptation. This book closes with key novel recommendations for government institutions to accelerate the energy transition, which - instead of replicating an approach from the past - would truly help advance civilization"--

"Where is the world heading? What choices need to be made to help humanity to thrive? These questions are more acute than ever in a context of growing inequalities, populism, social disorder, environmental challenges, and global health threats. The Future of the Global Order explores the six fundamental transformations ahead that will define the future of the world in the next three decades. Each chapter provides a unique and fact-based analysis of the situation at hand, reviews underlying uncertainties, and studies their inter-dependencies. As a tool to trigger debate, the book provides possible evolutions in global activity with four baseline scenarios, grasping the key issues which will shape the global order to 2050. Essential reading for anyone interested in understanding the massive forces of global change at play and the key decisions facing the future of humanity and the world."

"This book captures the dynamics of history, memory, and territorial cults in Houay Yong, a Tai Vat village situated in the multiethnic highland frontier between Laos and Vietnam. Taking seriously the experiences of the villagers, it partakes in a broader movement to reintegrate highlanders and their agency into history at large. Based on comprehensive fieldwork research and the examination of colonial archives, this book makes accessible for an English-speaking audience untapped French archives on Laos and early publications on territorial cults written by French ethnologists. In so doing, it provides a balanced perspective, drawing from the fields of memory studies and classical historical research. Following a chronological approach stretching from the 19th century to the present, it extends narrative analysis through a comparative ethnography of territorial cults, a key component of the performative and material presentification of the past. Highly interdisciplinary in nature, History, Memory and Territorial Cults in the Highlands of Laos will be useful to students and scholars of anthropology, history and religious studies, as well as Asian culture and society"--

After decades of stability, power systems are currently undergoing a rapid transition - demand patterns are evolving, while supply sources are shifting to renewable energies at an accelerated pace. This book, written by an experienced energy professional, combines the various aspects of supply and demand developments to offer a unified perspective. It highlights the key changes that the world of electric utilities and power systems will face in the coming decade, as well as the major challenges that will emerge as a result. Supplemented by a wealth of global and local data, the book describes the major patterns that affect both supply and demand, and provides a quantified analysis of their impacts on power system grids and markets. Lastly, it explores the new technologies that can enable the success of these transformations.