The Ancient Roots of Energy Use

For millennia, humans relied on the sun’s energy through basic biological processes. Plants converted solar energy into chemical energy via photosynthesis, animals consumed plants to transform that energy into motion, and humans sustained themselves by eating both plants and animals. This fundamental energy cycle remained largely unchanged until about 200 years ago when humanity discovered how to harness the ancient solar energy stored in fossil fuels.

Buried beneath Earth’s surface lay vast deposits of coal, natural gas, and oil – the fossilized remains of organisms that lived 300-360 million years ago during the Carboniferous period. These energy-dense materials would become the foundation for a complete transformation of human civilization, sparking what we now call the Industrial Revolution.

The Dawn of the Fossil Fuel Era

The fossil fuel society emerged from two crucial innovations. First was the discovery that coal could burn and release heat – a fact known to some Northwestern Europeans as early as 2,000 years ago. However, it wasn’t until around 1000 CE in China and 1600 CE in England that coal began to rival wood as a primary energy source.

The second breakthrough came from understanding how to convert heat into motion. While Egyptian engineers in the 3rd century BCE had experimented with using steam to power temple doors, it took until the 17th century for fossil fuels and steam power to combine effectively. European coal miners discovered they could use the coal they mined to power engines that pumped water from mines, allowing them to dig deeper for more coal.

The true revolution came in 1776 when James Watt and Matthew Boulton developed a steam engine with separate heating and condensing chambers, dramatically reducing coal consumption. Industrialists quickly realized steam power’s potential to supplement human and animal labor across industries. Productivity soared, prices plummeted, and despite lower prices, profits reached unprecedented levels due to massive increases in sales.

The Energy Explosion and Its Consequences

The impact of fossil fuels was staggering. In the most industrialized Western economies, per capita energy capture increased sevenfold – from about 38,000 kilocalories per person per day around 1800 to 230,000 by the 1970s. This energy revolution fundamentally transformed agriculture as well. By the late 19th century, steam-powered trains and ships made food transportation cheaper and more efficient. In the 20th century, petroleum-powered tractors, chemical fertilizers, and electric irrigation pumps directly boosted yields. By 2000, the average American farm absorbed 80 times more energy than in 1900 while producing four times more output.

Unlike previous energy revolutions (the transition from foraging to agriculture), the fossil fuel revolution didn’t emerge gradually across different regions. Beginning in Northwestern Europe around 200 years ago, it rapidly transformed the entire world. The first nation to industrialize – Britain – became able to project its power globally during the 19th century, leaving little time for other societies to develop fossil fuel industries independently. By 1914, most of the world’s population had become part of a Western-dominated fossil fuel economy.

The Social and Cultural Impacts

The fossil fuel revolution didn’t just change how humans worked – it transformed social structures and cultural values. Perhaps most significantly, it largely eliminated forced labor systems that had been integral to agricultural societies for millennia. As fossil fuel energy increased wages, paid employment became more attractive than coerced labor. Between the 1780s and 1848, most European nations abolished serfdom, and Britain banned the slave trade in 1807 before abolishing slavery entirely in 1833.

Fossil fuels also revolutionized gender roles. In agricultural societies, women typically spent most of their adult lives pregnant or caring for children. But as fossil fuels improved nutrition and healthcare, infant mortality plummeted – from about 25% of U.S. births dying before age one in the 1850s to just 1 in 163 by 2014. With fewer children needed to ensure family survival, women gained decades of potential working years. Labor-saving devices like washing machines and vacuum cleaners (what economists call “engines of liberation”) further reduced domestic burdens, enabling more women to enter the workforce.

The fossil fuel economy also fostered more egalitarian societies. Where agricultural civilizations maintained strict hierarchies (between elites and commoners, men and women, believers and non-believers), industrial societies increasingly valued interchangeable citizens in an open social structure. This shift supported larger, more efficient markets that drove economic growth.

The Legacy of the Fossil Fuel Revolution

The fossil fuel revolution’s impacts continue to shape our world today. It created the first truly global economy and dramatically increased living standards. Where the average farmer in 1700 earned the equivalent of $1.50-$2.20 per day (compared to $1.10 for foragers), global average income rose to $7,614 by 2008. People grew taller (10 cm taller on average in 2000 than their great-grandparents in 1900), lived longer (30 additional years of life expectancy), and became vastly more productive.

Perhaps most importantly, the fossil fuel era fostered values that continue to evolve today – democracy, gender equality, human rights, and peaceful conflict resolution. While these values emerged first in industrialized Western nations, they have spread globally along with fossil fuel technology and economic development. Surveys show strong worldwide support for democratic governance (about 80% approval across geographic and demographic groups) and gender equality (86% global approval in a 2009 survey of 16 countries).

Yet the fossil fuel revolution also created new challenges, including environmental concerns and economic inequality. While industrialized nations reduced domestic inequality through progressive taxation and social programs (with post-tax Gini coefficients falling from about 0.40 to 0.26 between the 1920s and 1970s), global inequality initially increased as the industrialized West pulled ahead of the rest of the world. Only since about 1950 has this trend begun to reverse as industrialization spread globally.

The Future of Energy and Society

As we stand at the threshold of potential new energy transitions – toward renewable sources like solar and wind – we must consider how future energy systems might continue to reshape human society. The fossil fuel revolution demonstrated that changes in how humans capture and use energy can transform everything from family structures to political systems. As we develop new energy technologies, we should anticipate similarly profound social and cultural changes.

The transition from agricultural to industrial values wasn’t always smooth, as seen in ongoing tensions between traditional and modern societies. The 2012 Taliban attack on Malala Yousafzai for advocating girls’ education illustrates the clash between agricultural-era values (emphasizing female subordination and divinely sanctioned authority) and industrial-era values (supporting gender equality and universal education). Such conflicts remind us that energy transitions are never just about technology – they reshape how humans organize society and conceive of fundamental values like justice, freedom, and human dignity.

As we contemplate humanity’s energy future, we would do well to remember how profoundly the fossil fuel revolution transformed every aspect of human life – and to consider what comparable transformations might accompany our next great energy transition.