A fourth essential has been added to the age-old necessities of life. Besides food, clothing, and shelter, we must have energy. In the 30 years since World War II, we Americans have used more energy than air our forefathers combined. We've invested it in many grandiose projects. The American highway system, for example, is 15,000 miles long, connecting every city in the nation. It's the largest man-made object in the world -larger than the pyramids, the great wall of China and the Parthenon all rolled into one. Early Americans found a wilderness rich in wood, coal, and oil. And they used it to make machines, which made more machines, which made more – until today less than 1% of our work is done by human muscle. In a sense, everything was made possible because energy was available in great plenty.
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