ABSTRACT
In the 19th and 20th centuries, energy needs grew as mechanization changed the nature of work and the division of labor. The large-scale commercialization of coal and petroleum extraction in the 19th and 20th centuries made possible the growth of modern cities and the development and expansion of motorized transportation and electrification. For humankind, access and direct use of abundant energy resources has played and continues to play a central role in social, political and economic evolution from the primitive to the modern era. Energy security, therefore, involves a great deal more than protecting a resource. It is about maintaining all that we have gained namely, technology, transportation, manufacturing, electricity, buildings, information technology, medical advances-long into the future. The global economy and national societies have evolved quickly into energy-dependent entities in the modern era. The market plays a critical role in both driving and responding to these diverse elements of energy security.
