John Perlin
Author
Language
English
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Description
"Ancient writers observed that forests always recede as civilizations develop and grow. The great Roman poet Ovid wrote that before civilization began, 'even the pine tree stood on its own very hills' but when civilization took over, 'the mountain oak, the pine were felled.' This happened for a simple reason: trees have been the principal fuel and building material of every society over the millennia, from the time urban areas were settled until the...
Author
Language
English
Formats
Description
The definitive history of solar power and technology
Even as concern over climate change and energy security fuel a boom in solar technology, many still think of solar as a twentieth-century wonder. Few realize that the first photovoltaic array appeared on a New York City rooftop in 1884, or that brilliant engineers in France were using solar power in the 1860s to run steam engines, or that in 1901 an ostrich farmer in Southern California used a...