New comic: 'Energy Slaves' [84 pages]

Hi everyone, 

I am proud to launch my comic Energy Slaves, about one of my heroes, Buckminster Fuller.

Energy Slaves
How many invisible "energy slave" workers does it take to fuel our modern lifestyles?
http://www.energyslaves.com/
 

You may remember that I published a 34-page extract of this comic last year. Now the whole 84-page comic is online via energyslaves.com

How much energy could you generate during a year?

For me, the standout statistic from the comic is on Page 49.

I reveal that if an average human being was placed on a rowing  machine (or exercise bike, or treadmill...) for a year of 250 eight-hour  shifts, the total amount of energy that the person could expend into  the machine would be 500 megajoules.

How much is 500 megajoules? It is roughly equivalent to the energy stored within 14 litres of gasoline (petrol).

14 litres of gasoline after an entire year of human effort!!?? Most motorists burn that volume in a week of car-driving. Many burn that amount every single day.

This statistic shows how puny our bodies are compared to the supernormal power of fossil fuels.

Our ancestors were once both the mind and muscle that influenced their physical world. Today, we are essentially just the mind. Fossil fuels are the overwhelming muscle that we use to influence our world today.

Energy Slaves: what does it actually mean?

We  have designed our lifestyles and expectations for the future around the  exaggerated musclepower of fossil fuels. The question, therefore,  becomes whether or not we can continue to rely on fossil fuels to power  our civilisation into the future. As climate constraints and fossil fuel  depletion come to bite, what will our future lifestyles look like? How  will they be powered? Can renewable energy replace the might of fossil  fuels?

My Energy Slaves comic will inspire you to think about big questions like these.

Let's make the term "Energy Slaves" a part of the popular lexicon surrounding fossil fuels, just like my earlier comic entered "Rat Park" into the lexicon surrounding drug addiction.

Please read and share the comic via http://www.energyslaves.com/