In the free fall of 1917 , a severe ember shortagehit the United States . bacchanal even develop out over the lack of zip as the nation went into the wintertime months . Some citizenry were calling for conservation , but one snarky newspaper article insisted that conserve was for suckers . Why ? citizenry of the futurity — specifically , the people of 100 yr hence — wouldn’t be using ember anyway .
I lately hail acrossthis articlein the November 12 , 1917 variant of the Lincoln Evening Journal in Nebraska which be given under the headline “ look Ahead . ” The firearm was reprinted from the Chicago News and ridiculed the idea of worrying about whether people of the future would have enough coal . They needed ember now , and there ’s absolutely no mode that mass of the year 2017 would still be using ember as energy .
What will be citizenry be using a hundred years hence ? The author hypothecate that perhaps someone will find oneself a way “ to put the sunshine ’s energy in entrepot , and pump it into people ’s houses thru pipe . ”
Solar power ! It was n’t such a silly idea , of grade , as some people had been contrive strange solar - powered equipment in the 19th 100 . And the thirties would even see thissolar - power icebox .
The author of the article explained that their grandfathers had “ overprotect around with tallow candles ” and that “ highbrow author ” warn masses to save their candles . But it was all for goose egg , of course . Better energy sources were get hold and humanity work up .
“ And these gifted maniac who are worrying about the ember supplying are in the same class , ” the author from 1917 proceed . “ It does n’t occur to them that in a hundred years hoi polloi will be say , ‘ Our grandfathers , the poor boobs , actually used coal for heating purpose ! ’ ”
In some ways this writer from 1917 is right . When we heat our homes here in the year 2017 , very few of us have to literally use coal in a furnace that ’s sitting in our houses . But in 2015 , rough 67 percent of America ’s energy needs were from fossil fuels . The largest single source ? Coal , at 33 percent . We have n’t advance very far when it comes to our energy sources , woefully . Solar energy accounts forless than one percentof American energy .
Much like oil , which wearen’t run out of anytime presently , we need to move off from coal because it ’s the right affair to do for the surround . And even if you somehow do n’t believe in humanity ’s role in mood change , at least do it for the futurity .
If nothing else , it ’s kind of obstruct that a writer from a hundred years ago had out-and-out sureness that we ’d have act to better engineering science by now , and we ’ve all prove him incorrect .
Energy
Daily Newsletter
Get the good technical school , scientific discipline , and acculturation news in your inbox day by day .
news program from the hereafter , give up to your present .
You May Also Like
