Subterranean Explorations - by Martín Fonck (Paperback)

About the Book

Martín Fonck delves into the promises of geothermal energy and their abandonment in the Chilean Andes.

Book Synopsis

Geological phenomena have a strong visual presence in the landscape of the Chilean Andes. Volcanoes, thermal springs, earthquakes and geysers arise from an active geology. From the start of the 20th century, engineers and geologists have imagined transforming the heat of groundwater reservoirs into electricity. However, its use as electric power at a national scale remains an unfinished promise. Inspired by the anthropology of energy and infrastructures, Martín Fonck delves into the promises of geothermal energy and their abandonment in the Chilean Andes.

About the Author

Martín Fonck researches and teaches at the Chair of Sociology of Science and the Department of Science, Technology and Society (STS) at the TUM School of Social Sciences and Technology. He has worked at the Rachel Carson Centre for Environment and Society and at the Institute for Ethnology at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU). Also, he was a research associate at the Research Institute for Sustainability - Helmholtz Centre Potsdam. He analyses the future of environmental technologies from an ethnographic and historical perspective.