Synchronization of energy consumption by human societies throughout the Holocene.

ABSTRACT: We conduct a global comparison of the consumption of energy by human populations throughout the Holocene and statistically quantify coincident changes in the consumption of energy over space and time-an ecological phenomenon known as synchrony. When populations synchronize, adverse changes in ecosystems and social systems may cascade from society to society. Thus, to develop policies that favor the sustained use of resources, we must understand the processes that cause the synchrony of human populations. To date, it is not clear whether human societies display long-term synchrony or, if they do, the potential causes. Our analysis begins to fill this knowledge gap by quantifying the long-term synchrony of human societies, and we hypothesize that the synchrony of human populations results fr

SUBMITTER: Freeman J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6176593 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature