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Energy flows in rural China

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Abstract

A quantitative analysis of major rural energy flows in the People's Republic of China shows that the nation 's countryside still depends predominantly on solar radiation transformed by green plants through photosynthesis into food, feed, fuel, and raw materials. Although a large-scale modernization effort currently under way aims to greatly increase the consumption of fossil fuels and electricity, it is argued that the country should not completely abandon its renewable rural energetics.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada

    Vaclav Smil (Associate Professor)

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  1. Vaclav Smil
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Smil, V. Energy flows in rural China. Hum Ecol 7, 119–133 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00917517

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