The current state of U.S. oil consumption, with the nation consuming more oil than any other country in the world and more than 25% of the world’s total oil supply, may make it hard for many Americans to be believe that just over a century ago, wood, a form of biomass that can create renewable energy, was used to meet 90% of the nation’s energy needs.

Why did the country see such an extreme shift in energy usage within the span of five generations? The answer is cost.  Fossil fuels, though major emitters of heat trapping greenhouse gases, cost less than wood.  The savings in monetary cost from use of fossil fuels that emit greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, however, are proving to be far from worthwhile. 

The staggering rate of increase of carbon dioxide emissions in the last 150 years has lead to growing concern about global warming and climate change – a change that can equate to the earth’s average surface temperature rising 3.5 to 8 degrees in Fahrenheit if the carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere reaches twice the level that it was at before the huge emission increases propelled by the industrial revolution that began 150 years ago.

More on Renewable Energy