This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American
From the Post Carbon Institute comes a quick video of the history of fossil fuels and the growth of the modern economy over the last 300 years:
You might also be interested in this recent post: "Energy source transitions over time - what comes next?"
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Bonus points for using A Tribe Called Quest.
Via Adam Frank at NPR's excellent 13.7 blog.