Renewable Energy Success Stories

Fossil Fuels – A Short Blip in History

It was not until the industrial revolution in the 1800s that humankind tapped the storehouse of energy we know today as fossil fuels. Coal was used at first because mining was already well understood from the mining of gold, silver, copper and other minerals. Gradually, coal displaced wood as the most commonly used fuel. With the invention of the internal combustion engine, oil consumption grew until it displaced coal as our largest source of energy. As civilization advanced, energy consumption increased exponentially. The human population consumed more than five times as much energy in 2000 as it did in 1950, and more than 13 times as much as in 1900.²⁹

As fossil fuels are depleted and our polluted environment motivates changes, we will return to a greater use of clean and timeless energy sources. The fossil fuel era will give way to renewable and alternative sources of energy, as the graph below illustrates.³⁰

29 Arlie M. Skov, SPE, Journal of Petroleum Technology, World Energy Beyond 2050, January 2003, Table 1 shows 1900 consumption equivalent to 14 MB/D, 1950 at 35 MB/D, 2000 at 190 MB/D. See: http://www.spe.org/spe-app/spe/index.jsp (10-Mar-2003).

30 Ray Joesten, University of Connecticut, Geology 101, Lecture 22, Slide 30, (10-Mar-03).