Americans have not always desired new sources of energy. Demand has needed to be created, and this has never been easy.
Coal Image courtesy of franky242 / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
by Christopher F. Jones, Assistant Professor of History in the School of Historical, Philosophical, and Religious Studies, ASU.
George Shoemaker knew it was time to run. Despite his willingness to give away his product simply for the cost of its transport, a group of angry Philadelphians had obtained a warrant for his arrest. They denounced him to local authorities as a swindler peddling defective wares. Rather than wait for his day in court, Shoemaker snuck out of town along back roads and did not look back.
What suspicious good was Shoemaker trying to sell? Surprisingly, the answer is coal.
Read the complete post in The Atlantic. http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/04/fraud-failure-and-frustration-br-this-is-the-story-of-americas-first-energy-transition/360691/