[hunterpayne]

"Economic growth and human development over the last several centuries has been the result of"

Fossil fuels...most of the growth from 1800-1970 was due to fossil fuels. Not sure why this is such a mystery to so many. Makes sense when you think about it from a physics POV. You use energy to move things, to make things, to travel to buy things, etc. Heck, the middle class wasn't a concept until the industrial revolution which was caused by...say it with me...fossil fuels.

[anonym29]

Like I said, complex web of interleaved prerequisites. Without the scientific revolution, hydrocarbons would remain almost entirely untapped.

But yes, energy was absolutely one of those prerequisites. Fun fact (you're probably already aware, but for other readers): there is a strong positive correlation between national energy consumption and national economic output.