A Review of An Early Energy Crisis and Its Consequences, an Article by John U. Nef

In the article An Early Energy Crisis and Its Consequences, written by John U. Nef, it informs how Britain has adopted a new source of fuel, as the supply of wood ran out during the 16th century. But as there was an argument against switching the current fuel to coal due to the CO2 released by wood as it burns the equal amount taken up by the tree as it grows, meaning over the lifetime of the tree there is no change in the atmospheric carbon dioxide.

However, with the wood crisis there has been an attribution to the requirement of expanding agriculture, industry, and commerce. Therefore, it finalizes Britain to substitute wood to coal, leading to the chance of new method of manufacturing and the expansion of existing industries.

Before then, industries in major country never had come to depend on underground resources for the bulk of its fuel. As it became clear that coal is cheaper and a more efficiency production, the adoption of coal in Britain changes industries by providing the source of energy on application of coal following the restoration of reverberator furnace for smelting non-ferrous metals.

It was stated that "coal furnace was installed in building to retain heat from the new coal-burning fireplace," which shows the manufacture of coal bringing new comfort to Britain's chilly climate by giving up much heat compared to wood (Nef 22).

A long-held objection to any kind of mining other than coal is the reserved of metallic ores, therefore make Vannoccio Biringuccio, an author who believes that it could fill the conceivable future demand of fuel.

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He says "Miners are more likely to exhaust about the supply of ore than foresters supply of wood, (especially] since nature produces new ones every day," however it was expressed in this outcome due to coal being mentioned only once to him before thinking the dismiss of fuel (Nef 11). Yet beforehand coal was depended on when the high price of wood pressured the English, in which leads to how the author of De re metallica, Georgius Agricola who rank miner's calling higher than the merchant trading for lucre, changes the attitude towards the exploitation valuable underground resources found with the advised of appreciating the possible outcome of mining ore.

The spread of invention that brings upon Britain took a substantial period of experimentation to improve better coal-based method. With the use of the device by mining experts to access coal deposits known as the boring rod, it helps determine the "thickness and quality of coal seams without sinking shafts" (Nef 26). Therefore, with the tool it helps revealed new founds under the soil and energy resources begin to pull in the direction of quantity production that was different from ancient history.

In conclusion, the adaptation of the new fuel in Britain set a motion chain events that culminated some two centuries later in the Industrial Revolution by the gather with economic transformation that brought about the introduction of coal. As it spread in Britain to the rest of its continent it will make most of the resources called not only the intensity but also for restraint to the change of the standard of beauty in the environment.