Energy in American History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Energy in American History - Essay Example In fact, there was less reliance on the wood for fueling locomotives after discovery of coal. Moreover, there was a high preference for coal as a source of energy was due to its higher-energy content compared to wood. Coal was needed for production of coke in the process of manufacturing iron and steel; in fact, it was identified as an economical component in the production process. Nevertheless, the paper will focus on exploring use of energy in America through a comparison of different sources, while the next section will summarize arguments in these sources, thereby evaluating them to determine whether they are honest and accurate. Finally, the paper will explore the historical context for energy issue and discuss the way knowledge can influence evaluation of these arguments. There was profound growth of energy consumption in the transport sector during the nineteenth century, and this growth led to an exhaustion of sources of energy such as wood and coal, in American history. How ever, this was not until the Second World War, when petroleum was introduced (Johnson, 30). Establishment of petroleum let to a shift from use of coal as a source of energy to use of diesel and gasoline on locomotives and trucks. This was also facilitated by engines designed to consume gasoline and diesel, thereby making petroleum products predominant sources of energy for transportation. Nevertheless, this led to a rise in labor issues, safety standards, increased costs of coal production and a reduction in the use of coal as a source of energy. Years later, there was a reemergence of coal consumption as a source of energy, which involved firing electrical generators; this clearly indicated its stake as source of energy. However, introduction of petroleum as a source of energy and natural gas continued to reduce use of coals as a prime supply of energy. There was a further increase in the use of petroleum in the 1920s after a completion of the first petroleum drilling project by Ed win Drake (WOU, 1). In fact, this led to a significant increase of use of petroleum during the depression, which increased until 1973. In this case, petroleum can be considered the only source of energy that underwent sudden increase in consumption during the American history. Issues and arguments at this section of the paper entails a comparison of two sources from both governmental and non-governmental website, and these sources seem to agree in numerous accounts regarding changes in the consumption of energy in American history. Therefore, these accounts can be considered rational, and with an attribute of high level of accuracy. Consequently, this makes the stance of the paper to be in agreement with the accounts provided by these sources in relation to the history of energy consumption in America. Evaluation of the Arguments There has been a notable change in the patterns of energy consumption over the American history throughout the development of different sources of energy a nd change of energy consumptions. Therefore, the arguments proposed in the first section of the paper can be considered rational and accurate. In fact, there are other websites indicating that wood was used as a source of energy before establishment of coal, which was later replaced by petroleum. In this case, accounts by these sources indicate that coal was a highly preferred source of energy during the nineteenth century. Moreover, different sources also indicated that in