History of Energy
The need for energy is by no means a modern problem. Throughout history humans have continually searched for better and cheaper sources of energy and ways to heat their homes, cook their food, and get from one place to another.
The Discovery of Fire... er... Wood
The first major energy was of course fire. Actually fire is not an energy source but the result of the source... wood. Without a combustible material, like wood, there really can be no fire.
I guess you could say that wood was the first alternative energy — the alternative to freezing your butt and eating raw meat.
Can you imagine the first prehistoric man as he learns to build his first campfire and cooks his first medium rare steak? Now that's a milestone in the history of man. I bet chef "cro-magnon" became very popular in his neighborhood.
Throughout the early history of energy wood was a common source. In Ancient Greece, Rome, and in the rest of the world during the medieval era, most everyone burned wood as their fuel source. Even today many rural, and not so rural, homes are heated by wood. I'm sure many of us have friends and family in the north, who depend on wood as a back-up source of heat for their homes.
And wood "energy" was used in many ways. It was used to cook food, warm houses, light our way, and later to power trains and steamboats. No wonder we began to run out of wood.
When the availability of wood in some places became limited, around the 1000s, people started using coal, mainly due to the fact that it was inexpensive and abundant. The coal industry boomed from that time until the mid 20th century. This was the beginning of how history of energy advanced to what it is today.
So coal and wood remained the main sources of energy for almost 1000 years. So most of the advances in energy source alternatives have only happened in the last 200 years.
Science Takes Over
The 1800s is when scientists began to understand electricity and research ways of turning this power into a usable energy source. Michael Faraday built an induction dynamo based on principles of electromagnetism, induction, generation and transmission. The possibility of electric power was born.
In the 1860s mathematical
theory of electromagnetic fields was published. James
Clerk Maxwell is generally considered the greatest
theoretical physicist of the 1800s, if not the century's most important
scientist. He created a new era of physics when he unified magnetism,
electricity and light. One of the most significant events, possibly the
very most significant event, of the 19th century was Maxwell's
discovery of the four laws of electrodynamics ("Maxwell's Equations").
This led to electric power, radios, and television.
The 20th Century
The 20th century introduced an abundance of new energy and fuel sources and revived and reformed plenty of other already existing ones. To keep the new, industrial revolution "energized" new and more efficient power sources would be required. The demand for energy was growing.
Types of Early 20th Century Power Sources
Dams constructed across the country used water to produce hydroelectric power, and waterwheels had been used for hundreds of years prior.
Geothermal power, or energy derived from stored heat underground, was developed at the turn of the century with the first geothermal generator built in 1904 in Italy, and later the first geothermal power plant was built on the same site. Twenty countries across the world now produce geothermal energy. Other developed industries included oil, natural gas, nuclear power, and reviving renewable energy sources like solar and wind power.
Solar energy dates back farther than one might think. The Ancient Greeks even used the heat from the sun to heat their homes. There’s evidence that Leonardo da Vinci attempted to control solar power in the 15th century.
French inventor, Auguste Mouchout, was very vocal during the Industrial Revolution about finding other resources to replace coal. He knew coal would not be available forever, and he went on to invent the earliest form of a solar-powered engine, which could convert heat from the sun into steam power. But solar energy was pricey, and therefore was never at the forefront of the energy world, but it was never off the table.
In 1921, Albert Einstein received the Nobel Prize in Physics for research that would later be central to the production of electricity through solar cells. The popularity of solar energy increased during the oil crisis of the 1970s. Today, solar panels can be found everywhere from satellites in space, call boxes across highways, and even homes of everyday families.
Wind
Wind power has been harnessed practically since the dawn of recorded history. The ancient Egyptians used wind energy to sail boats down the Nile, and the majority of the world’s land wouldn’t have even been seen if it weren’t for the wind in the sails of history’s greatest explorers like Columbus and Magellan.
Windmills were developed in the Middle East and Europe and refined to assist in food production, pumping water, and even generating electricity. The same way solar power became more popular in the 1970s, so did wind power. Fields of wind turbines have been built in the US, with some turbines being taller than 300 feet high.
Petroleum Energy
Of course, no history of energy is complete without discussing oil. Because it’s such a staple of the modern world’s day-to-day life, it’s strange to think that at one point in time oil was considered an ALTERNATIVE energy source.
Actually, compared to others, oil as a fuel source is a fairly recent industry. Originally, oil wasn’t used as a fuel, but rather used in medicine, the production of tar, and other uses. As a fuel source, its use dates back to the use of whale oil, and it’s first main use was as kerosene for lighting.
The Automobile Factor in Energy
After the invention of the automobile, petroleum based oil
moved to the forefront of the energy industry, and all other fuel
sources have basically taken a back seat. 
It seems solar, wind, biodiesel, and other fuel sources don’t even get considered until we need something to replace oil, and even then it’s usually temporary. Today, most forms of transportation use oil in some form as their fuel, and the world has grown increasingly dependent on this vital commodity.
When the oil crisis of the 1970s hit, what used to considered an abundant energy source was seen in a new light. We became aware of our dependence on an energy source that was limited. Gasoline also put us at the mercy of foriegn suppliers. The history of energy and politics have not been the same since.
Although oil became more available again, prices have continued to rise, and as we are more and more dependent on the Middle East we realize that our political and ecomomic interests are controlling our way of life. Finally the idea of limiting our consumption became acceptable. And with Global Warming also a threat, our eyes have opened to the wisdom of greener renewable energy.
And today, facing a global economic crises we must take the opportunity of developing greener and more sustainable energy sources seriously.
