Is the History of the energy problems we have in the United States up until now

History of Energy Use

Other than sunlight, fire from biomass is probably the earliest reported use of energy by humans. In preindustrial societies, wood, straw, and charcoal were used to meet energy needs such as home heating, cooking, and ore smelting. Many such sources have been severely depleted due to their use in a nonrenewable manner. Energy required for labor was derived from the muscular power of humans and animals. For example, people used to plow agricultural fields with the help of animals. Seeding, planting and harvesting of crops used to be done manually by hand. Activities such as grain milling and transportation involved the use of cattle such as water buffaloes(Cassedy, Grossman, pp 85-138).

With advent of the industrial revolution, the demand, use, and diversification of energy substantially increased. For example, per capita annual combustion of fuels was 500 kg of wood equivalent by 1850s, which is very nominal compared to the current energy consumption. Taking into account the differences in energy efficiencies, annual per capita consumption of energy in 1995 was 20 times higher than in the 1850s. From early 1990s, electricity production from fossil fuels began. In 1990, less than 1 percent of fossil fuels were devoted to electricity production, which rose to 25 percent by 1990. Hydroelectricity came into existence in mid-1890s, and its global production has been increasing ever since. However, hydroelectricity production has almost leveled off in the United States since the 1970s, as virtually all viable sources of hydroelectricity have been utilized(Cassedy, Grossman, pp 85-138).

In 1956, the dream of the harnessing nuclear energy through controlled atomic fission was realized when the first commercial fission reactor came into operation. Initially nuclear energy was heralded as the energy of the future and a viable substitute for fossil fuels. In a flurry of activities, several nuclear power plants were built in the 1960s and 1970s, mostly in the developed countries. However, due to high construction costs, stringent safety requirements, containment of nuclear waste and disposal, and possibility of nuclear disasters (Three Mile Island Accident), and low crude oil prices, nuclear power plants became a less-preferred option. Very few nuclear plants were commissioned after 1980, and the much-hyped nuclear energy solution failed to live up to its earlier prediction.

In last 20 years, alternative sources of energy such as solar, wind, and biomass have received more attention. In terms of electricity production, wind energy is emerging as an attractive option. Production of biofuels such as ethanol and biodiesel is gradually increasing, which find their applications in automobiles as substitutes for gasoline and diesel. Brazil leads the world in biofuel production. Brazil produced 14 million m3 of ethanol from sugarcane in 2002. In the renewable energy category, hydroelectricity still predominates. In 1997, the share of hydropower in the renewable sector was 55 percent, followed by biofuels (38 percent) and geothermal (5 percent), whereas solar and wind energy accounted for only 2 percent of renewable energy produced in ...