Natural Gas – 100 Years Ago Today, August 12, 1922!
Tom Shepstone
Shepstone Management Company, Inc.
….
….
Natural gas news from a hundred years ago offers great perspective for discussing one of the cleanest sources of energy available then and still today.
I thought it might be fun and illuminating to look back 100 years ago at what was happening with natural gas. It is eye opening, given all we’ve learned over the last century and, of course, there is little new under the sun. Consider these 100-year old news items (emphasis added):
- Greenville Gas Uses Malthusian Thinking to Sell Product!
- And, Proving There’s Never A Shortage of Fear of Running Out…
- Natural Gas Meters Don’t Belong in Bathrooms!
- Natural Gas Already A Big Player in Making Electricity!
Greenville Gas Uses Malthusian Thinking to Sell Product!
Thomas Malthus, before de saw the error of his ways, postulated that population growth would inevitably lead ti an exhaustion of natural resources. Hordes of short-term thinkers who couldn’t find their way out of a cardboard box tell us the same thing yet today and make good money and great, albeit undeserved, reputations doing it. bur few people grasp it’s also a great way to sell stuff. Greenville Gas did, though a full century ago:
12 Aug 1922, Sat The Record-Argus (Greenville, Pennsylvania) Newspapers.com
Apparently, “get it while it lasts” worked then as well as it does now, but notice the last paragraph hints at the truth; higher prices means more exploration, more innovation, more product and, ultimately, low prices, which starts the cycle all over again.
And, Proving There’s Never A Shortage of Fear of Running Out…
The fear of running out things is endemic to human beings it seems, as this article proves:
12 Aug 1922, Sat The Brooklyn Daily Eagle (Brooklyn, New York) Newspapers.com
We are talking Brooklyn, of course, which is part of New York City where many false ideas are born, so perhaps that explains it.
Natural Gas Meters Don’t Belong in Bathrooms!
One wouldn’t think it was really necessary to say this, but…
12 Aug 1922, Sat The Oklahoma City Times (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) Newspapers.com
Not in your bedroom, either!
Natural Gas Already A Big Player in Making Electricity!
Natural gas and coal were already priority fuels for making electricity in 1922…
12 Aug 1922, Sat Portland Evening Express (Portland, Maine) Newspapers.com
Notice hydroelectric power (the renewable in the mix) was the biggest player in 1922, showing us renewables are old technology, not new.
The post Natural Gas – 100 Years Ago Today, August 12, 1922! appeared first on Natural Gas Now. This post appeared first on Natural Gas Now.