Up until the Industrial Revolution which began in 1760 and ended about eighty years later, water and wind were the main sources of energy. The sun was the main source of heat as well as burning wood and straw. Transportation was empowered by horses and the wind in the sails. Animals did the work people couldn’t do manually and simply put, that was life. Then engineers Thomas Newcomen and James Watt pioneered the modern steam engine in the mid 1700’s which did the work of dozens of horses. Coal mines in England and Appalachia fueled these steam engines.These machines powered locomotives, factories and farms. Coal at this time was also used to melt steel and provide heat for domestic and commercial use.

The later half of the nineteenth century saw some major changes in regards to energy and its distribution. Thomas Edison provided electricity to the streets of New York City in the late 1870’s and by 1900, power lines stretch across cities to provide electricity. In the late 1880’s, petroleum had replaced whale oil as the dominant form of fuel and started being used commercially. By the turn of century oil, when processed into gasoline, fueled internal combustion engines. For the majority of time leading up to the twenty-first century, the cost of energy was cheap and efficient use of energy was no concern. The Second World War sparked research and later the discovery of nuclear power, or “the peaceful atom” when used as electricity production. Soon after the war, over two hundred nuclear power plants were built across the United States and most homes were built with completely electric heating and cooling systems that took clear advantage of this phenomenon. Cars were being built larger and heavier than ever before with no consequences, gasoline was affordable and things were looking up.

It wasn’t until the 1940’s and 1950’s when we first experienced environmental concerns about fossil fuel usage. Our way of life was pronounced when smog was produced by the burning of these resources in Europe and America causing illness and death among civilians. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) was formed in 1960 to stabilize the oil markets in hopes of producing “an efficient, economic and regular supply of petroleum to producers” with a fair return on capital for the investors. As of 2014, twelve countries make up OPEC including Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela.

During the 1970’s, the United States faced oil shortages and rationing in some states. In 1970, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was formed. An independent agency, its first issue was to combat damage to natural areas as a result of energy harvesting. Congress also passed H.R. 8800 – The Electric Vehicle Research, Development, and Demonstration Act in 1976 to reduce dependence on fossil fuels.

When the U.S. supported Israeli efforts against the Arab world in 1973, OPEC stopped supplying oil to most western countries including the United States. President Carter dealt with a 150% price increase of oil when the Shah of Iran was forced out by Ayatollah Khomeini. By 1980, the price of a barrel of oil was $45 and President Carter had declared an energy crisis. On July 15th, 1979, President Carter gave a speech to the nation addressing the crisis and the soon-to-be recession. He discussed our self-indulgence of material goods, a fatal greed that had trumped community values and needs. President Carter’s energy policies included an implementation of mandatory conservation efforts for public and private enterprises and deep cuts on our reliance on foreign oil with import quotas. He also had a keen eye on the fate of the finite resource. He asked for a massive commitment to research on alternative fuel sources such as solar power, plant products, and clean coal. He was the first president to openly ask for a change on how we lived our lives in relation to our planet’s state of nature.

The relationship between the United States and the Middle East continued to stir with Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990, causing another stark rise in oil prices.