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Article: Fossil Fuels
- Article from:
- Chemistry: Foundations and Applications
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CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 The Gale Group, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Fossil Fuels
Since the beginning of the
industrial revolution
, fossil fuels have been important sources of energy. European industrialization began in the late 1700s in England, and coal soon became a major fuel. In 1850 wood was still the main energy source in the United States. During the latter half of the nineteenth century, the United States and other industrialized nations relied on coal (a fossil fuel) to provide the energy for industrialization. Coal remained the major fuel source for many years, and then, in the latter half of the twentieth century, oil and natural gas became the primary energy sources. The first oil well was drilled in Pennsylvania in 1859.
In 2000, fossil ...