500 Years Ago
500 Years Ago
500 Years Ago
First lets go back about 500 years. During the Renaissance, wood
was the critical energy
component in England and other European economies, much as fossil
fuel is today. Wood was the primary provider of heat, light, and food
preparation. However, England, having chopped down most of its
trees became a large wood importer, primarily from the Scandinavian
countries. Of course prices rose as wood became more scarce causing
domestic brewers, bakers, and others to go out of business hit by
lower priced imports from wood rich countries. The English citizenry
rebelled, having to pay exorbitant rates for wood to heat their homes,
light their nights, and cook their food. Thus in 1593 and again in
1615, Parliament enacted energy conservation legislation, including
limiting the use of wood in construction and mandating the use of
bricks (but it took more wood to bake the bricks than to build wood
structures). From 1600 to about 1650 the price of firewood soared
80%. Then in a single year the price of wood jumped another 300%.
Some families were forced to burn furniture and even parts of their
houses to survive the winters. Back then, there were no government
wood subsidies for freezing families.