Energy can be seen simply as the ability to multiply the work of laborers exponentially. Where the agrarian society had to make use of horses and mules for transportation services, the industrial economy could take advantage of the miracle of the internal combustion engine, which, when powered by gasoline, could lower the costs and increase the availability of transportation by orders of magnitude. Where once laborers did their jobs with scythes, shovels, and other tools, energy enabled them to increase their outputs tremendously by powering great machines such as tractors, cranes, and pile drivers. Power for illumination allowed the growth of multiple "shifts," greatly increasing the output that could be produced over a given period of time.
Energy Intensity
The ratio of energy consumption to economic activity is referred to as the "energy intensity" of an economy. Energy intensity may also be measured at lower levels of aggregation, such as at the industrial or transportation sectors of an economy. In general, as nations move into a more industrialized state, they find that their energy intensity greatly increases, as the demands of a more complex economy require a greater amount of energy per unit of output.
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