Dehradun, Dec. 21 -- Human development correlates with energy consumption. In a seminal paper published in Scientific American in 1971, Earl Cook traced the growth in per capita energy consumption through the stages of primitive to technological man. The primitive man needed energy only for food. Energy needs for home and commerce were added at the hunting stage. When humans became agriculturists, energy needs also arose from industry, agriculture and transportation. Energy needs for food, home, commerce, agriculture, and transportation continued to increase through industrial and technological stages. The present era belongs to digital technologies, and the digitalisation of the economy demands additional energy.
The metric "Human Develop...