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1、BookReviewEssayWhyAreFossi1Fue1sSoEntrenched?JenniferHaddenErvine,Kate.2018.Carbon.Ma1den,MA:Po1ityPress.Pirani,Simon.2018.BurningItUp:AG1oba1HistoryofFossi1Fue1Consumption.1ondon.UK:P1utoPress.Thurber,MarkC.2019.Coa1.Ma1den,MA:Po1ityPress.Recentana1ysishassuggestedthatitistechno1ogica11yandeconomic
2、a11yfeasib1eto黑producea11newenergywithwind,water,andso1arby2030(JacobsonandDe1ucchie-2011).Moreover,pub1icopiniononrenewab1esisveryfavorab1e;natura1gas,nuc1ear,嚅andcoa1expansion,ontheotherhand,arewide1yunpopu1ar(Thurber2019,128).Butthewor1discontinuingtore1yonfossi1fue1stomeetgrowingenergydemand,15e
3、venasrenewab1eenergyseesrapidgrowth(seeKusnetz2019).Inaneraofrapid85c1imatechange,whydoWecontinuetoseere1ianceonandexpansionoffossi1fue1s?97Thethreeinsightfu1booksreviewedinthisessayemphasizetheimportanceofgedifferentbarrierstoafossi1-freefuture.MarkThurber,sCoa1concise1yandexpert1y:一reviewshowcoa1r
4、osetoitspresentdominanceduetopo1itica1,economic,andootechno1ogica1factorsandspecu1atesabouthowthesefactorswi11shapeitsfuture.SimonPiranifsBurningItUptakesanimpressivehistorica1viewoffossi1fue1dtexpansion,especia11yfrom1950tothepresent,andarguesthattechno1ogica1systems方forfossi1fue1consumptionareembe
5、ddedinbroadersocia1andeconomicsystems,Asaresu1t,Piraniargues,changesthatdecreasefossi1fue1usecanon1ycomefrom累widertransformationsinsocia1andeconomicsys1ems.Ka1eErvinezSCarbonde1vesesintoimportantdiscussionsofcurrentpo1iciesdesignedtodea1withtheemissionofgreenhousegases,u1timate1yconc1udingthattransi
6、tioningawayfromfossi1fue1sis01essatechno1ogica1issuethananissueofreshapingthe“carbonizednetworks,Mstructures,anddependencies,*thatareshapedprofound1yby“specificre1ationsofVepowerandwea1thw(3).Inthissense,,PiraniandEnineconcurthatdea1ingwiththeprob1emoffossi1fue1swiIIrequirea1arge-sca1e20societa1tran
7、sformation,whereasThurberseemstoassignmoreweight22Iothero1eoftechno1ogyandpo1icyincurbingfu1urecoa1expansionanduse(H).G1oba1Environnwnta1Po1itics20:2.May2023.httpsdoi.oIO.1162g1ep.a.5502023bytheMassachusettsInstituteofTechno1ogy157158WhyAreFossi1Fue1sSoEntrenched?Reviewingthehistorica1reasonsforthee
8、xpansionofcoa1,Thurberarguesthatgovernmentshavetraditiona11yfavoredcoa1becauseitisperceivedtobe“energysecure.Coa1a1sohasare1ative1yrobustva1uechain,asitcanbeminedwithfair1yrudimentarytechno1ogy,transportedeasi1y,andburnedinavarietyofsettings.Butburningcoa1generatesnegativeenvironmenta1impacts,both1o
9、ca11yandg1oba11y,asmostpeop1earenowaware.Thurberarguesthatstrongenvironmenta1po1icycou1dreducetheattractivenessofexpandingcoa1inthefuture,ascou1dtechno1ogica1changesthatmakea1ternativestocoa1moreaffordab1e.Whi1eThurberdoesnotexp1icit1yspecu1ateonthe1ike1ihoodofsuchchangesoccurring,hedoeshigh1ightsom
10、eworryingtrends.Intermsofpo1icy,hearguesthatsupportseemstobestrongerfortightening1oca1airpo11utionstandards(whichcanbemetbyaddingemissionscontro1stocoa1p1antsormovingp1antsawayfrompopu1ationcenters)thanforaddressingg1oba1warming(whichwou1drequireshiftingawayfromcoa1).A1thoughprominentmu1ti1atera1ban
11、kshavemovedawayfromfundingnewcoa1p1ants,Chinesefundingwi111ike1yrep1acethissource,providingsufficientcapita1tofue1coa1expansion.Indeed,asHukmaneta1.(2018)document,therearepresent1ymorethan1700proposednewcoa1-firedpowerp1antsa11overtheg1obe,manyofwhichareChinesefunded.Intermsoftechno1ogy,thebook,ssec
12、tiononrenewab1esasana1ternativetocoa1discusseshowprob1emsofiniermit1encyandva1ueerosionhavehamperedtheexpansionofwindandso1arenergy.A1thoughthecostsofrenewab1escontinuetodrop,Thurberarguesthattheseissuesconstituteamajorobstac1eforcompetitionwithcoa1.Troub1ing1y,hehigh1ightstheemergenceofa“Germanmode
13、1winwhichcountriespairhighsharesofrenewab1ecapacitywith1argeamountsofcoa1capacity.Asheargues,thereisapo1itica11ogictothisstrategy:renewab1esexpansionsgiveagovernmentgreencredibi1ity,andcoa1expansionsmakesureenergyisnotaconstraintoneconomicgrowth.Arguab1y,renewab1esinitiativescanprovideinternationa1,
14、greenwashingwforcountriesthatwishtocontinuere1yingoncoa1asthecoreoftheirpowersystem.(155)IfIndiaissettofo11owtheGermanmode1,asThurbersuggests,thenana1ystsshou1dperhapsnotbeover1ysanguineaboutrecenttrendsinrenewab1eenergyexpansion.Thisobservationisausefu1remindertoscho1arsandpo1icymakersto1ookatenerg
15、ysystemsasawho1eineva1uatinggreencredentia1s.Pirani,sdetai1edhistorica1approachinBurningItUpmakesthecasethatatechno1ogica1changeinourenergysystemthatdisp1acesfossi1fue1swi11notoccurwithoutbroadersocia1transformation.Thisapproachcontrastswiththeconventiona1behaviora1approachtounderstandingindividua1e
16、nergyconsumption,focusinginsteadonhowenergyconsumptionisembeddedinparticu1arproductsandsen,icesand,inturn,socia1andeconomicsystems.TotakeOneexamp1ejhebookdocumentshowtrendstowardincreasedindividua1motorfue1consumptioncanbeunderstoodasaproductofchangesinhowsocietyisorganized.IntheUnitedStates,carmanufacturersde1iberate1yunderminedpub1ictransportationsystems,governmentinfrastructurespendingfavoredroadconstruction,andcar-basedurbanizationpatternsdo