the upside of down
Rome
The Upside of Down includes a detailed treatment of the amount of energy needed to build the Roman Colosseum and to run the Roman empire.
For interested readers, details of these calculations are available at the following links:
A summary of the project’s logic, calculations & results: Colosseum Project Walkthrough
Details of the calculations in spreadsheet form: Colosseum Calculations
A list of assumptions underlying these calculations: Colosseum Calculation Assumptions
Karen Frecker’s sensitivity analysis of her calculations:
Colosseum Sensitivity Analysis
This research was carried out by Ms. Karen Frecker an energy analyst based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Karen Frecker was born and raised in Toronto, Canada, where she recently completed her Honours degree in Peace and Conflict Studies, with a major in Economics. A central theme of her studies has been the politics and economics of social and ecological sustainability, an interest which she continues to pursue. She currently works doing research and analysis in Ontario’s energy sector.
© 2006 by Thomas Homer-Dixon
Publisher: Vintage Canada
