A New Culture Of Energy

In A New Culture of Energy, Luce Irigaray reflects on three critical concerns of our time: the cultivation of energy in its many forms, the integration of Asian and Western traditions, and the reenvisioning of religious figures for the contemporary world. A philosopher as well as a psychoanalyst, Irigaray draws deeply on her personal experience in addressing these questions. In her view, although psychoanalysis can succeed in releasing mental energy, it fails to support physical and spiritual well-being. In pursuit of an alternative, she took up the bodily practices of yoga and pranayama breathing, which she considers in light of her analysis of sexuate belonging and difference. Reflecting on these practices, Irigaray contrasts yoga’s approach to the natural world with how the Western tradition privileges mastery over nature. These varied sources provoke her to question how a tradition imagines transcendence and the divine. In the book’s final section, she reinterprets the figure of Mary through breath, self-affection, and touch, recalibrating her physicality within a natural world. A reflection on the liberation of human energy, this book urges us to cultivate an evolutionary culture in harmony with all living beings.

Luce Irigaray reflects on three critical concerns of our time: the cultivation of energy in its many forms, the integration of Asian and Western traditions, and the reenvisioning of religious figures for the contemporary world. A philosopher as well as a psychoanalyst, Irigaray draws deeply on her personal experience in addressing these questions.

The culture of the modern world involves a sizeable and continuous use of energy. The story of energy as a part of modernity begins in the early 19th Century with hard work, experiments and the establishment of local energy systems. The natural conditions made certain by the alternation between light and dark, between warmth and cold, was gradually suspended by the introduction of electric lighting and heating into the home. The welfare state has significantly hastened this development to the degree that notions such as wellness and individual well-being have become natural elements of our consumer culture and our daily life. In most parts of the world we have light whenever we desire it, and the homes maintain a comfortable temperature of 21 degrees Celsius by use of either heating or of air-conditioning. In The Culture of Energy historians, social scientists and architects focus on various aspects of the energy culture in Western Europe, the United States, India and former Soviet Union, and examine subjects such as the history of lighting, street lighting, heating and central heating, household uses of energy, the debate on nuclear power, energy conservation and environmental perspectives on energy.

In Art & Energy, Barry Lord argues that human creativity is deeply linked to the resources available on earth for our survival. By analyzing art, artists, and museums across eras and continents, Lord demonstrates how our cultural values and artistic expression are formed by our efforts to access and control the energy sources that make these cultures possible.

This book comprehensively and systematically introduces the principles, key technologies and main types of new energy utilization based on the analysis and prospect of global energy development trend and energy transformation law. Starting from the basic law of energy development, this book points out the inevitability of the development of fossil energy to non-fossil new energy, expounds scientifically and prospectively the importance of developing new energy to conform to the law of energy development and to ensure national energy security, introduces in detail various new energy technologies, summarizes the new strategies of traditional energy companies, and expounds respectively current situation and application prospect. The book is divided into four parts. The first one is "Energy Trend" includes the law of energy development, world energy layout and energy development trend. The second part, "New Energy Revolution", includes revolutionary energy technology and energy Internet technology. The third part is "New Strategies of Traditional Energy Companies", which includes the new energy distribution of oil companies and coal-fired power companies. Part IV "New Energy Theories", includes hydrogen energy, energy storage and new materials, geothermal, nuclear energy, wind and tide and other new energy sources.

The way in which our society exists, operates and develops is strongly influenced by the way in which energy is produced and consumed. No process in industry can be performed without a sufficient supply of energy, and without industry there can be no production of commodities, on which the existence of modern society depends. Energy systems have evolved over a long period and more rapidly over the last two centuries, as a response to the requirements of industry and society, starting with the combustion of fuels and building up to the exploitation of nuclear energy and renewable resources. It is clear that the evolution of energy systems is a continuous process, which involves constant technological developments and innovation.This book publishes papers presented at the First International Conference on Energy and Sustainability. Featured topics include: Energy Management; Energy and the Environment; Energy Markets and Policy; Energy Efficiency; Energy and External Costs; Computer Modelling; Energy Resources Management; Nuclear Fuels; Rational Use of Energy; Solid Fuel Energy; Energy and Built Environment; Exergy and Ecology; Energy and Life Cycle Analysis; Education and Training; Energy Systems and Pollution Control; Energy and Climate Change; Renewable Energy Technologies; Energy Storage and Transportation; Energy Analysis of Industrial Processes; Exergy and Economics; Regulations and Policies and Hydrocarbon Exploration and Recovery.

Energy Culture is a provocative book about oil's firm grip on our politics and everyday lives. It brings together essays and artwork produced in a collaborative environment to stimulate new ways of thinking and to achieve a more just and sustainable world. The original work collected in Energy Culture creatively engages energy as a social form through lively arguments and artistic research organized around three vectors of inquiry. The first maps how fossil fuels became, and continue to be, embedded in North American society, from the ideology of tar sands reclamation projects to dreams of fiber optic cables running through the Northwest Passage. The second comprises creative and artistic responses to the dominance of fossil fuels in everyday life and to the challenge of realizing new energy cultures. The final section addresses the conceptual and political challenges posed by energy transition and calls into question established views on energy. Its contributions caution against solar capitalism, explore the politics of sabotage, and imagine an energy efficient transportation system called "the switch." Imbued with a sense of urgency and hope, Energy Culture exposes the deep imbrications of energy and culture while pointing provocatively to ways of thinking and living otherwise.