Slide 4 of 19
Notes:
By meeting nutritional needs with industrial processes based on fossil fuels as a resource, the problems of growing population were initially solved. It is of note that the industrial "solution" developed over a relatively short period of time. The appearance of the fossil fuel industry is officially set in the year 1859 when the first successful oil wells were drilled (although it is known that the small scale use of fossil fuel started much earlier). Literature tells us that 1912 was when the Industrial revolution started; the year of the combustion motor with its fuel, benzene. The many ways that became feasible to meet the needs of growing populations were enormous given the new availability of fossil fuel.
It is not surprising that in the beginning the resources determined the developments in the environment. But now, it is the environment that will determine the kind of resources and processes that will be able to meet future needs of the world's populations.
