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AMERICA’S ENERGY ISSUES
clean water to towns and cities, thus reducing the spread of disease. Fossil
fuels have also blessed humanity with the widespread distribution of medi-
cines such as antibiotics and the availability of state-of-the-art medical equip-
ment. These health blessings dramatically increased the human population
during the last century by raising the average human life span from less than
thirty years in 1900 to sixty-seven years in 2006.
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Unfortunately, the fossil-fuel-induced proliferation of the human species
comes with a huge environmental price. As we expand our population base ...