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Benjamin Franklin harnessed lightning by flying a kite during a thunderstorm. Lead to new ideas about the creation of energy
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Alessandro Volta created the first battery which consisted of two electrodes one made of zinc and the other copper.
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Gerald Pearson, Calvin Fuller, and Daryl Chapen were American scientists that were able to create a solar panel with an efficiency of 6% with direct sunlight.
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John Gorrie, and American physician, created the first working refrigerator.
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First hyroelectric power plant opened in the US in Appleton, Wisconsin.
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Pattilo Higgins discovers oil at Spindleton Hill, Texas. Began the oil boom in the US.
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John D. Grant creates first geothermal power plant in the US at the Geysers, Arkansas.
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The plant located in Lewiston, New York, diverts water from Niagara Falls and converts it too energy. Named after Robert Moses.
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Nuclear power meltdown in Dauphin County, Pennslyvania. No deaths were accounted for as a result of the incident; however, it greatly swayed public opinion against nuclear power
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Occured in Prince William Sound, Alaska spilled 260,000 to 750,000 barrels of oil into US waters. Considered to be one of the most devasting human cause enviromental disasters.