Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Dr. Peters
ENGL 134
31 October 2018
Towering and full-bodied, a tree stands tall, with it’s branches twining and twirling and
its leaves springing organically off them. Chop! The tree is felled and sliced into neat blocks to
be lit on fire. This is wood, the first resource used to produce energy. In China, a miner heaves a
pickaxe over his shoulder to chip away at the black rock formed millions of years ago. This is a
new form of energy: coal. Coal replaces wood in the hearths of many, but also paves way for
novel energy technologies. Instead of placing the stones in the fire-pit, geniuses develop
electricity. The stones are pulverized into a fine powder and then lit on fire, turning liquid water
into gaseous steam. The hot steam rolls through the tubular system and rotates a clunky turbine.
The turbine then rotates a generator, filled with wire coils, in a magnetic field, producing
electricity. Tar-black, liquid lakes with a rainbow sheen are found around the world. Buckets of it
are shipped away to be lit on fire—this is oil. Though oil is the primary fuel for America today, it
does not contribute to the production of electricity. Deep in the crevices of the earth lie pockets
to be separated in a gas processing plant. The gas processing plant then pumps the methanes,
odorant. Companies reap these gases and distribute them to their consumers. Electricity can also
be produced by natural gas, through similar processes as coal. Instead of aqueous steam
Blanche Kameny !2
powering the turbines, it’s the natural gasses that power the generator. Each of these fuel types
paved way for each other; wood lead to coal, coal led to oil and natural gas, and coal and natural
Works Cited:
https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/index.php?page=natural_gas_delivery
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electricity_sector_of_the_United_States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_in_the_United_States
http://naturalgas.org/overview/uses-electrical/
Books: