ABSTRACT
Introduction Beginning in mid-2009, the world experienced a feeble economic recovery, held back by an increase in oil prices. History has taught us that nations developed thanks to major industrial revolutions which in turn fostered economic growth. The first industrial revolution took place in the nineteenth century when engineers started using refined coal as a source of efficient energy. The second major economic revolution came in the twentieth century with the development of the petroleum industry, with fuel oil and gasoline as key sources of energy. The world’s industrial performance and economic growth so far in the twenty-first century is still dependent on fuel oil and gasoline-limited resources that have become a source of political and economic instability.
