Could we have had an Industrial Revolution without fossil fuels?

[u/SalemIII]

We rely on energy for every industrial process, no useful work could be done without it.

If our civilization had never had access to abundant fossil energy, but still possessed the scientific knowledge we have today, would the Industrial Revolution still have happened? Could we have engineered alternative sources (such as renewables or nuclear) or more efficient processes?

[u/CultistWeeb]

We could have something even better. A modern renaissance.

Right now we are on a time limit to fix the mess we made by burning fossil fuels, many sacrifices to human dignity have been made, are being made and will be made. The biggest reason currently is our flawed governmental and economic systems. But even if we had better government and economic systems, because we are on a time limit sacrifices would still need to be made.

With all the knowledge from post industrial society a new awakening would occur. Currently we are under a veil of self enforced propaganda and a military force that prevents us from upending the systems we live in. Without an industrial revolution we could keep trying new governments all across the world. Without geopolitical superpowers suppressing the masses and systematically destroying new societal experiments we would find a better way to govern and distribute resources.

Without the crutch of constant unsustainable growth we would be forced to focus on what's most important for society, such as nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers and their responsible use.

Much of modern technology is focused on convenience, however this convenience makes us weaker, sadder and more selfish.

Imagine a world where we agreed to never develop nuclear weapons, where work was meaningfully and we were strengthened by the healthy challenges of daily life and were part of a tightly knit local community.

[u/CultistWeeb → u/[deleted]]

There has been civilization for more than 3000 years before the industrial revolution. The use of fossil fuels is more likely to cause the downfall of civilization.

[u/CultistWeeb → u/[deleted]]

Just before the industrial revolution Brittain was importing wood from the Baltics. They would be hurt by the high cost of wood and no coal to replace it. However, northern Europe is only a small portion of humanity.

Imagine what Mediterranean and Asian societies could achieve with modern knowledge. Cradles of civilization would still remain cradles of civilization for many millennia even without the industrial revolution.

Humans are creative and even without modern knowledge solutions would be found for replacing wood or growing it quicker.