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Coal Production
Commercial production of coal begins near Richmond, Virinia -
Lightning as Electricity
Benjamin Franklin discovers that lightning is electricity, This leads to the development of electricity. -
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Industrial Revolution
The world starts to turn from a labor-based system to a machine-based system. This uses many coal-powered machines, and used much more energy than ever before. -
Street Lights
Street lights are lit up using gas made from coal in Baltimore, Maryland. -
Electric Motor
Michael Faraday creates the first electric motor. -
Drilling for Gas
Edwin Drake is the first person to drill for oil and is successful. He drilled in Titusville, Pennsylvania. -
Coal-Powered Station
Thomas Edison creates the first coal-powered station in NYC and it provides houses electricity. -
Solar One
The University of Delaware builds Solar One, which is one of the first solar energy collectors. -
Nuclear Energy
Nuclear energy replaces hydropower as the number two source of energy in the US. -
Dam
The Guri Dam, the second largest dam in the world, begins providing energy in Venezuela. -
Kyoto Protocol
The Kyoto Protocol comes into force. This protocol declares that industrialized nations need to reduce their CO2 emissions as well as other green house gasses by 5.2% of the 1990 numbers.