Energy

A bit of history

Fire, unquestionably the most important discovery in the history of mankind, was discovered thanks to the accidental combustion of wood. Fire has illuminated, heated, protected and fed mankind for thousands of years. Briefly, fired fostered the birth of civilisation. Wood, on the other hand, remained the most widely used raw material for many centuries, not only to burn fires, but also as building material. The invention of the steam engine allowed mankind to obtain mechanic energy from the combustion of wood, whereas up to the 18th century wind and water where the only mechanic energy sources available, thanks to wind and water mills. During the Industrial Revolution wood started to become scarce owing to the massive deforestation carried out to produce energy. Mankind had to look for alternative energy sources and found them in coal and oil, which at the time were abundant albeit not renewable. Only recently, energy need and the possible disappearance of fossil fuels and the pollution produced by the combustion led man to “re-discover” the usefulness of wood and biomass as energy sources.