ABSTRACT
The use of fire by early hominids, some 500,000 years back during the Pleistocene age, was an important step in the development of man. The gradual transformation of human gatherers and hunters into groups of steady agrarians was the first reason for extensive human multiplication and survival. The continuously developed skill in managing food production led to a decrease in the number of those working in the fields and enabled the formation of other human activities with a continuous subdivision into occupational groups. With the advent of a controlled growth of corn and grain and its storage, the energy of the sun was effectively used and stored for human subsistence. There are wide differences between the developed countries with respect to energy utilization. The enormous deficit of countries like India and China can be evaluated when considering the need for energy for populations nearing the 1 billion mark.
