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Firewood
From the time explorers landed on America, firewood was used as an energy source for cooking, heat and house keeping. http://allentownfirewood.com/ -
William Murdoch lights his house with gas lamps
Murdoch worked with the Soho Foundry steam engine works and worked with different types of gases as energy. In 1792, he finally made a breakthrough and lit his own house; from here, he began lighting other places such as office buildings and theaters and researching more about the use of gas for light. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gas_lighting#The_first_gas_lighting http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gas_lighting#The_first_gas_lighting -
The US Natural Gas Industry begins
William Hart dug a well in Fredonia, New York, to illuminate a nearby inn as well as the street lamps along the town's streets, making Fredonia a tourist attraction. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_petroleum_industry_in_the_United_States#Drake_well.2C_Titusville.2C_Pennsylvania http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~txgregg/art/LongviewPics/Longview2/FredoniaSt.jpg http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~txgregg/art/LongviewPics/Longview2/FredoniaSt.jpg -
Coal begins to be used on railroads
Coal began being used as the train was invented around 1855, taking over the old use of firewood as the primary source of energy. Coal PictureWikipedia -
Drake Well drilled in Titusville, Pennsylvania
George Bissell and Edwin L. Drake drilled the first succesful commercial oil well on Oil Creek. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_petroleum_industry_in_the_United_States#Drake_well.2C_Titusville.2C_Pennsylvania http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:AdvertisementEmpireRefiningCoNYC1879.jpg -
Thomas Edison gets a patent for an electric lamp
Thomas Edison invented the first incandescent light bulb, and eventually gained a patent for an electric lamp using a "carbon filament or strip coiled and connected to platina contact wires". http://hartpark.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/water-wheel.jpg -
Hydroelectric power illuminates sixteen street lights
The first DC Powerhouse in Grand Rapids, Michigan, used a water wheel to illuminate sixteen nearby street lights without the need for gas. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydroelectric_power_in_the_United_States#History http://hartpark.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/water-wheel.jpg
http://hartpark.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/water-wheel.jpg -
California makes tax rebates for wind powers
California funded rebates to use wind power for electricity. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_wind_power#19th_century -
Researchers develop a method to produce hydrogen fuel from water
In 2008, researchers at the Massaschetsus Institute of Technology used solar energy to produce hydrogen fuel from water. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternative_energy#History -
Current Day
Biofuels and other alternative, clean sources of energy are looked into to have a greener future. https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&sugexp=les%3B&gs_rn=2&gs_ri=hp&tok=Ji6TMkW8agBNuD4_0A5DNg&cp=13&gs_id=1g&xhr=t&q=alternative+energy&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_cp.r_qf.&bvm=bv.41867550,d.eWU&biw=1366&bih=643&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=-F4MUfXMLIug8QSU74CICQ#imgrc=2NNBXsIoEWFLxM%3A%3BC8CURP4h6LWIEM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fgreenplanetethics.com%252Fwordpress%252Fwp-content%252Fuploa
