History of Energy

From wood to coal to oil to renewables, the story of energy is the story of human progress and its social and environmental costs. Understanding this history offers lessons for navigating today’s energy transition.

Countries

Explore GHG emissions in the United States

The price of power in the United Kingdom, 1300-2000

Where is new wind power in the United States being built?

Watch the history of hydropower plants in the United States

What happens to low level nuclear waste in the United States?

Electrification

Nuclear research reactors

The price of power in the United Kingdom, 1300-2000

Where is new wind power in the United States being built?

What methods of electricity generation use the most water?

Watch the history of hydropower plants in the United States

End Use

How has the knowledge economy affected energy use?

The price of power in the United Kingdom, 1300-2000

Fuel energy density: What is it and why is it important?

Sankey diagrams for national energy systems

Why are gasoline prices lower in oil-exporting countries?

Sources

Why is hydrogen assigned different colors?

How has the knowledge economy affected energy use?

Explore GHG emissions in the United States

The price of power in the United Kingdom, 1300-2000

Where is new wind power in the United States being built?

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MA Energy Explorer

License: Unless otherwise noted, all visualizations, data, and stories produced by Visualizing Energy are open access under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0). This means that you have permission to copy, transform, and redistribute the material in any medium, provided the source and authors are credited.

A project of the Boston University Institute for Global Sustainability