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Lightning
Benjamin Franklin harnessed lightning by flying a kite during a thunderstorm. Lead to new ideas about the creation of energy -
First Battery
Alessandro Volta created the first battery which consisted of two electrodes one made of zinc and the other copper. -
Creation of Solar Panel
Gerald Pearson, Calvin Fuller, and Daryl Chapen were American scientists that were able to create a solar panel with an efficiency of 6% with direct sunlight. -
Creation of Refrigerator
John Gorrie, and American physician, created the first working refrigerator. -
First Hydroelectric power plant
First hyroelectric power plant opened in the US in Appleton, Wisconsin. -
Strike Oil at Spindleton
Pattilo Higgins discovers oil at Spindleton Hill, Texas. Began the oil boom in the US. -
First geothermal plant
John D. Grant creates first geothermal power plant in the US at the Geysers, Arkansas. -
Robert Moses Niagara Hydroelectric Power Station
The plant located in Lewiston, New York, diverts water from Niagara Falls and converts it too energy. Named after Robert Moses. -
3 mile island
Nuclear power meltdown in Dauphin County, Pennslyvania. No deaths were accounted for as a result of the incident; however, it greatly swayed public opinion against nuclear power -
Exon Valdez Oil Spill
Occured in Prince William Sound, Alaska spilled 260,000 to 750,000 barrels of oil into US waters. Considered to be one of the most devasting human cause enviromental disasters.
