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Explore Boston’s Energy, Climate, and Equity Initiatives

  • Written by: Cutler Cleveland
  • Visualizations by: Cutler Cleveland

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The history of coal production in the United States

Coal has played a pivotal role in the United States' industrial history, fueling steel production, electricity generation, and economic growth in the early 20th century. However, this legacy also comes with significant environmental and health issues, including miner health problems, landscape degradation, abandoned mines, and pollution.

The history of oil production in the United States

The United States has played a significant role in global oil production, contributing 17% since 1900, with Texas being a major player, accounting for one-third of the nation's oil production. Technological advancements like hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling led to record U.S. oil production in the 2010s, making the country the world's largest oil producer and a net oil exporter.

Four million wells and counting: the history of oil and gas drilling in the U.S.

Since the first successful oil well in 1859, the U.S. has drilled millions of wells for oil and gas. Drilling surged with demand, technology, and geopolitics, with notable periods like the post-WWII boom and the fracking-driven increase in natural gas wells. This progress has brought economic benefits and energy shifts, yet also raised environmental and social concerns.

Where are new hydropower plants being built?

Hydropower's history traces back to 1882 when the first facility began supplying electricity in Wisconsin. Its adoption surged across North America, Europe, and beyond, with China notably driving expansion in recent decades. Hydropower now contributes 17% of global electricity, surpassing nuclear, wind, solar, bioenergy, and geothermal combined.

Why the weight of your personal vehicle matters

The fuel efficiency of personal highway vehicles, particularly gasoline-powered cars and trucks in the United States, is a crucial factor in energy consumption. Vehicle weight significantly affects fuel efficiency due to basic physics principles like inertia and rolling resistance.

Explore the world’s bioenergy power plants in 2022

The use of biomass by humans can be traced back at least 1 million years to the controlled use of fire. However, the generation of electricity from biomass, known as biopower, is a more recent development. One of the earliest biopower plants was the São José da Estiva power station in Brazil, which began operating in 1900.

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