In the late 1800s, the main use for petroleum was to produce kerosene for heating lamps. Gasoline, a byproduct of this process, was considered a waste; in Pennsylvania, this "waste product" was dumped into the river, where it sometimes caught fire! At the turn of the century, the appearance of the gasoline-powered engine would usher in the "Oil Age", forever changing the world's relationship with "black gold". Modern societies have grown to depend on this millions-years-old substance to function, guzzling over 30 billion barrels a year. Based on estimations of remaining reservoirs, we can keep this rate up through 2050-2150. Walking through the process of how oil forms underscores just how amazing the substance--a fossil from millions of years prior, surviving only be coincidence--really is.
