Contents Introduction: Climate background and Eem visitors -- Weichselian stone age : Coping with the cold North -- Late stone age : More settlements and transitions -- Agriculture, trade, and metals -- Migration and exploration by land and sea -- Medieval society : Church building and a little dissent -- Renaissance : The missed opportunities -- Aftermath : Ecological disasters and counter-measures -- Industrialisation and infrastructure development -- Electricity : wind or coal? -- Oil, nuclear (no thanks!) and natural gas -- Conflicting directions : Renewable energy and decentralisation in a world of globalisation and growing consumption.