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2000 BCE
2000 BC.
According to the report of an early missionary to China, coal was already being burned there for heating and cooking, and had been so employed for up to 4000 years. Likewise, in early medieval Europe, the existence of coal was no secret, but the 'black stone' was used as an inferior fuel because it produced so much soot and smoke, until the 13th century, it was largely ignored in favor of wood. -
200 BCE
200 BC
The first practical use of natural gas dates to 200 BC and is attributed, like so many technical developments, to the Chinese. They used it to make salt from brine in gas-fired evaporators, boring shallow wells and conveying the gas to the evaporators via bamboo pipes." -
200 BCE
200 BC Europeans Harness Water Energy to Power Mills
The vertical waterwheel, invented perhaps two centuries before the time of Christ, spread across Europe within a few hundred years. By the end of the Roman era, waterwheels powered mills to crush grain, full cloth, tan leather, smelt, & shape iron, saw wood, and carry out a variety of other early industrial processes. Productivity increased, depending on human & animal muscle power gradually declined, Locations with good water-power resources became centers of economic & industrial activity. -
1 BCE
1st Century. Chinese First to Refine Petroleum (Oil) for Use as an Energy Source
More than 2,000 years ago, our ancestors discovered oil in many places in China. A book "Han Book Geography Annals" written by a historian, Eastern Han Dynasty, Ban Gu wrote of flammables in the Weishui River. Located at the east of the Yanan city, is called the Jian. Another book about petroleum in the famous Sketch Book at Meng Xi written by scientist Sheng Kuo He reported that there was a lot of oil in the subsurface & it is inexhaustible. -
1700s. Coal Begins to Displace Use of Other Energies (Industrial Revolution)
Great shift in population and industry that took place in the 18th century was due to the intro. of coal as a source of mechanical power, power effective, steam engine and to new methods of smelting and working up iron. New civilization developed. The end of the 18th century coal began to replace sources of energy. Wood, wind, water, beeswax,etc. all were replaced by coal. Economy of the earth, opening up of coal seams meant that industry was beginning to live first main source potential energy -
1821: First Natural Gas Well in US Is Drilled
1821, the 1st well intended to obtain natural gas was dug in New York, by William Hart. He noticed gas bubbles rising to the surface of a creek, He dug a well to get flow of gas to the surface. He's named father of natural gas. 19th century, natural gas was used almost exclusively as a source of light. It was difficult to transport gas very far. Most of the natural gas produced in this era was from coal. 19th century with the rise of electricity, natural gas lights converted to electric lights. -
1830s. TTTTRRRRAAAAIIIINNNNN!!!!!!!
First major bomb for coal use occurred in 1830 when the Tom Thumb, the first American-built locomotive, was manufactured. The Tom Thumb burned coal, and in rapid fashion, virtually every American locomotive that burned wood was converted to use coal. America's coal industry had begun taking shape. -
1862:Abraham Lincoln Enacts an Ethanol Tax to Help Finance the Civil War, Severely Hampering the Ethanol Fuel Industry
1860, ethanol was 1 of the nation's best-selling chemicals. When the Civil War broke out, President Abraham Lincoln imposed a $2.08 per gallon Spirits Tax [in 1862] to finance the war effort. Ethanol was subject to the tax. Industrial and fuel ethanol disappeared for 45 years. In 1906, Teddy Roosevelt, seeking a competitor to Big Oil, convinced Congress to lift the Spirits Tax. The ethanol industry was back in business. By the end of World War I it was producing some 50 million gallons a year. -
Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 Passed to Allow the Leasing of Federal Land for Geothermal Energy Development
To encourage the development of geothermal energy the U.S. government passed the Geothermal Steam Act in 1970 allowing the leasing of land containing geothermal resources; however, Congress excluded any lands within the National Park System, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lands, and any other lands prohibited from leasing by the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920. -
Apr. 18, 1977 - President Carter Delivers Famous Energy Speech Arguing for Conservation and Alternative Fuels
President Jimmy Carter makes a famous speech on energy, detailing how the US is facing an imminent energy shortage and arguing that the country must make profound changes in the way it uses energy.
The oil and natural gas we rely on for 75% of our energy are running out. Imports have doubled in the last five years.
we're now running out of gas and oil.
If we fail to act soon, we will face an economic, social and political crisis that will threaten our free institutions." -
June 25, 2013 - President Obama releases his climate action plan including increased use of renewable energy and carbon pollution restrictions for power plants
Obama issues the Environmental Protection Agency to work expeditiously to complete carbon pollution standards for both new & existing power plants. 2012 the President set a goal to issue permits for 10 gigawatts of renewables by the end of the year. President has directed it to permit additional 10 gigawatts by 2020. Department of Defense, largest consumer of energy in the U.S. is committed to deploying 3 gigawatts of renewable energy on military installations, solar, wind, biomass, geothermal. -
Aug. 3, 2015 - President Obama Announces Clean Power Plan, Imposing the First Nationwide Limits on Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Power Plants
EPA sets the first-ever limits on greenhouse gases from power plants, requiring a 32% cut in emissions by 2030 from 2005 levels...
who assert that the emissions limits will cost jobs & not actually solve climate change.
Regulations also seek to prevent the electricity industry from becoming more dependent on natural gas. Coal accounts for just under 40% of total U.S. electricity, emits the most carbon dioxide compared with other fuels.
