5.089

We know about renewable library books and renewable prescriptions, but over the last few decades the term “renewable energy” has taken its place in everyday conversation. In order to grasp the importance of renewable energy, it’s helpful to know what “nonrenewable” energy is.

After Thomas Edison developed a system for the generation and delivery of electricity for commercial use in the late 19th century, we’ve gradually become dependent on fossil fuels, so-named because they are created by the decomposition of tiny sea creatures on the ocean floor. Over millions of years the decaying layers became quite deep, and the waters gradually receded, leaving behind the landscapes we are all familiar with sitting atop these fossil layers, which had become a black goo called petroleum — or, more commonly, oil. Eventually oil drillers discovered that there were usually pockets of natural gas — also called methane — near the underground oil fields. In the same way, over millions of years forests and plant life died and accumulated, leaving behind enormous veins of coal.

Coal-mining and oil drilling became the enterprises of the daring entrepreneurs, who gambled on the chance that a great deal of money could be made as more and more uses for the fuels were discovered. In addition to generating electricity, coal, oil, and natural gas came to be used to heat businesses and homes on a widespread basis.

The laws of supply and demand ruled: The oil and methane producers and the coal miners had the supply and, as towns grew into cities, more homes were built, and manufacturing got its start, demand increased. The growing demand became very lucrative for landowners whose property sat over underground oil fields or coal deposits. They sold their land to the producers and socked away their windfalls. When these “wildcatters” realized that there were usually pockets of natural gas near their oil fields, and that it burned, it wasn’t long before street lighting became available. Later on, someone figured out how to make gasoline from oil, and the automobile industry took off. Of course, at that time no one gave much thought to particulates in the air and smog soup at the time. Nor was anyone concerned about ever running out of supplies. The possibilities must have seemed endless.

Recommend or share this page: