"Energy is the only universal currency: one of its many forms must be transformed to another in order for stars to shine, planets to rotate, plants to grow, and civilizations to evolve."
"...no matter how complex or affluent, human societies are nothing but subsystems of the biosphere, the Earth's thin veneer of life, which is ultimately run by bacteria, fungi and green plants."
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Source: Vaclav Smil (2005). “Energy at the Crossroads: Global Perspectives and Uncertainties”, p.350, MIT Press
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