Energy, particularly one from fossil fuels, has played
very important roles in our lives. Consider the case of a
baby Michael born in August 2003, a gasoline powered
automobile rushed her mother to the maternity ward, a
coal fired power plant lit the hospital in which he was
born and a central heating system burning natural gas
warms the room in which he took his first breath. Had
any of these sources of energy failed, little Michael’s life
would have been lost. This simple illustration
underscores the essential role of energy to our lives.