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On this date, Ben Franklin conducted his electrical "kite" experiment. Franklin stood outside during a thunderstorm and held onto a silk kite with a key attached to it. Once lightning struck the kite, he moved his hand over to the key and felt a shock. This proved that lightning was electrical in nature, and that electricity could run through other objects. This sparked the "energy" craze. http://www.codecheck.com/cc/BenAndTheKite.html
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A brief timeline of the use of electricity in the United States
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1820 was the start of the Industrial Revolution. Manufacturing and energy usage was now occurring at a wide-spread scale, and America began to develop more electrical, hydroelectric, and coal power plants to supply the mass-manufacturing need. http://www.history.com/topics/industrial-revolution
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In 1821, the first well to specifically collect natural gas in the U.S. was established. During this time, natural gas was mainly used for a source of light (they would use it in lanterns, torches, and other forms of light) due to there being a lack of pipeline infrastructure back in the 17th century. This was the start of the collection of natural gas in the United States. The exact month and day is not known.
http://alternativeenergy.procon.org/view.timeline.php?timelineID=000015 -
In 1888, Charles F. Brush developed the world's first windmill that can generate electricity in the U.S. The windmill is said to have 500 revolutions per minute at full load, generating a maximum of 12,000 watts of electrical energy. The exact month and day of finished construction is unknown, so therefore I placed the year as 1888 only. http://alternativeenergy.procon.org/view.timeline.php?timelineID=000015
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In 1908, Henry Ford launched the Ford Model-T car. This vehicle is considered the be the very first automobile to be introduced into the U.S., and even world. The Model-T was the start of the car industry, which as you know, is a major consumer of natural gas and non-renewable resources. This point in history can be labeled as a catalyst for the use of more and more non-renewable resources. The exact month and day of the Model-T launch is not specified.
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The geysers in California were originally discovered in the 1800's but were not considered as a resource for renewable energy. So, John D. Grant began drilling a geothermal well and started running a small direct-current generator which was used to provide electricity for lighting The Geysers resort. At the time though, geothermal energy was too expensive compared to non-renewable competitors, so the well did not receive too much attention. Exact date not shown. alternativeenergy.procon.org
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In March 1931, six companies began to finance the production of the Hoover Dam. The dam was supposed to employ thousands of people, as well as start producing more energy for cities like Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and etc. http://www.history.com/topics/hoover-dam
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On December 20, 1951, a nuclear power reactor began generating electricity for the first time in the U.S. It barely generated enough power to light four 100 watt bulbs, but it was the start of a new, more modern way of producing energy in the world and U.S. The reactor was built by all staff members of Argonne National Laboratory, and they celebrated their finished design by chalking their names onto a wall next to the generator. http://alternativeenergy.procon.org
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In 1954, Congress passed new legislation that for the first time permitted the wide use of atomic energy for peaceful purposes. This act fueled the beginning of an atomic era, as it promoted the use of atomic power for peaceful applications, public health and safety, and as a new source of renewable energy. This event also brought along the mass production of atomic bombs that modernized the U.S. military. http://alternativeenergy.procon.org/view.timeline.php?timelineID=000015
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On August 3rd, 2015, President Obama put forth legislation that limited the amount of Carbon Dioxide emission put forth on non-renewable energy plants as a way to reduce pollution and greenhouse gas production from occurring due to factories abusing their production limits. This hit the energy-production industry because this plan set a limitation on how much power and energy could be mass-produced at one time using non-renewable resources. http://alternativeenergy.procon.org
