1/15 The #1950s #syndrome coined by Swiss #historian Christian Pfister is a key concept in #envhist to mark the unprecedented #fossilfuel dependency in post- #WW2 developed World. With @MogensRudiger I ( @PoulsenBo) wrote about #Danish exp.
#WW2 #dkenergi #dkpol #envhum /BP

2/15 The combination of expensive wage labour relative to price of cheap fossil fuel facilitated a radical transformation of countries in western Europe incl. #Denmark /BP

3/15 In 1945, there were 4 mio Danes, 650,000 horses and c. 1000 tractorer. The next decades tractors took over alongside increase in yield from farms and use of chemical fertilizer /BP

4/15 Factories enjoyed electrification and infrastructure developments such as motorways and suburbs 1. mio free standing houses were added alongside 1 mio. biler over c. 10yrs /BP

5/15 In 1956, the nuclear test facility at Risø was established with the intent of exploring peaceful uses of nuclear energy - a potential source of yet more energy, although Denmark never established an actual nuclear powerplant /BP

6/15 This was an economic and social success story. #Wirtschaftswunder in Germany, breakthrough of welfare soc. in Denmark: Low unemployment, own house, own car and comfort like never before. /BP

7/15 Female labour participation rate increased, while the household work became less cumbersome with equipment such as these machines:
#twitterstorians /BP

8/15 But from an environmental standpoint the impact of the #1950s-syndrome was a honey trap, furtering #climatechange, ecosystem strains and loss of biodiversity /BP

9/15 Critique of the env. problems came from two sides: 1)worry over risks associated with nuclear power in NGO's like OOA 2)worry over pollution becoming both visible and hazardous in relation to public health /BP

10/15 … pollution affected core constituency of Social Democrats @Spolitik. Leading politician Erling Olsen expressed the dilemma on economic progr. vs. env concern in 1969: .... /BP

11/15 ..."What do we prefer? More clothes? Better food? Better furniture? Additional and longer holidays? Bigger cars? Colour TV? Or fresh air, clean water and less
noise in our everyday lives?"
#dkgreen #dkhist #dkpol /BP

12/15 ....rhetorical Q's, but in 1971 the first ministry for pollution was established (later@MFVMin). Energy though belonged in the ministry of trade - not of env. concern before 1973.... /BP

13/15 #energy consumption was mainly debated among left wing parties not in power. Among center-right and center-left parties, env. should not hinder economic growth... /BP

14/15 We came to live in what @Danny__Mac__ has called "egotiated high modernity”. A relatively peaceful era marked by by hirtherto unseen material prosperity #envhist #envhum /BP

15/15 This is why the #oilcrisis of 1973 came as such a shock, hitting a country complete dependent on imported fossil fuels.

The full story is available here: https://vbn.aau.dk/ws/portalfiles/portal/331179622/Pre_Print_Poulsen_R_diger_1950s_syndrome_Routledge2020.docx.pdf

#twitterstorians #energy #ethics #envhist /BP