--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When coal came into the picture, it took…" description: "\"When coal came into the picture, it took about 50 or 60 years to displace timber. Then, crude oil was found, and it took 60, 70 years, and then natural..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/625/rex-tillerson-45407_100-years_when-coal-came-into-the-picture-it-took_2102856.jpg" --- # When coal came into the picture, it took about 50 or 60… ![“When coal came into the picture, it took about 50 or 60 years to displace timber. Then, crude oil was found, and it took 60, 70 years, and then natural gas. So it takes 100 years or more for some new breakthrough in energy to become the dominant source. Most people have difficulty coming to grips…” quote by Rex Tillerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/625/rex-tillerson-45407_100-years_when-coal-came-into-the-picture-it-took_2102856.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/625/rex-tillerson-45407_100-years_when-coal-came-into-the-picture-it-took_2102856.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/625/rex-tillerson-45407_100-years_when-coal-came-into-the-picture-it-took_2102856.jpg) > “When coal came into the picture, it took about 50 or 60 years to displace timber. Then, crude oil was found, and it took 60, 70 years, and then natural gas. So it takes 100 years or more for some new breakthrough in energy to become the dominant source. Most people have difficulty coming to grips with the sheer enormity of energy consumption.” [Rex Tillerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-tillerson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Energy shifts happen slowly; new sources need a century to dominate, outlasting older fuels. **In simple terms:** New energy takes about a hundred years to become dominant. Key Takeaway Expect long timelines for energy change. Themes energy transition technology adoption history economics environment Mood cautious realistic Type analytical forecasting When to use this quote - policy planning - investment decisions - public communication - infrastructure development Key Concepts diffusion of innovation path dependence resource economics Questions to Reflect On - How can we accelerate sustainable energy adoption? - What policies could shorten transition periods? A Different Perspective Historical patterns may not predict future breakthroughs accurately. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Breakthrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breakthrough/) [Climate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/climate/) [Consumption](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consumption/) [Crude oil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crude-oil/) [Energy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/energy/) [Energy consumption](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/energy-consumption/) [Enormity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enormity/) [Grips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grips/) [Natural gas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/natural-gas/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Picture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/picture/) ## Related quotes > [An energy-dominant America will bring even more hard-working Americans into the high-skill, well-paying jobs and careers the energy sector offers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-huckabee-sanders/an-energy-dominant-america-will-bring-even-more-hard-working/) [Sarah Huckabee Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-huckabee-sanders/) > [ We paired this announcement of the R&D \[commitment\] with the so-called Breakthrough Energy Coalition, which is 27 \[major investors\] saying, "Hey, we'll put significant… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/we-paired-this-announcement-of-the-r-d-commitment-with-the-so-called/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [My innovation message, specifically including energy, happened to be the same week that on Monday and Tuesday I announced the Breakthrough Energy Venture Group.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/my-innovation-message-specifically-including-energy-happened-to-be/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [You don't need someone destroying you when your own people are the worst messengers possible. And this is what black people in America have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-canada/you-don-t-need-someone-destroying-you-when-your-own-people-are-the/) [Geoffrey Canada](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-canada/) > [I want to see these bad, bad, bad, bad men come to grips with their humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ellroy/i-want-to-see-these-bad-bad-bad-bad-men-come-to-grips-with-their/) [James Ellroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ellroy/) > [Say what you will about Americans, but one thing they are not is passive. 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We are overtaken by the beauty of Michelangelo's sculpture, riveted by Mariah Carey's angelic voice, doubled over in laughter by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-maxwell/talent-grips-us-we-are-overtaken-by-the-beauty-of-michelangelo-s/) [John C. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-maxwell/) > [Congress has shortchanged not only foreign aid but foreign policy. A mistaken notion that diplomats are unimportant and hence undeserving of support grips conservative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-lewis/congress-has-shortchanged-not-only-foreign-aid-but-foreign-policy-a/) [Anthony Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-lewis/) > [Dividing everybody into genders and sexuality and races and religions, and I think it's important to have films out there, to have discussions out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chiwetel-ejiofor/dividing-everybody-into-genders-and-sexuality-and-races-and-religions/) [Chiwetel Ejiofor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chiwetel-ejiofor/) > [What really excites me is the unknown, and getting to grips with something you have no idea about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-wilson/what-really-excites-me-is-the-unknown-and-getting-to-grips-with/) [Ruth Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-wilson/) > [In the sequence where I am burned at the stake, everything was so casual and hazardous that the bottom of my dress caught fire,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-steele/in-the-sequence-where-i-am-burned-at-the-stake-everything-was-so/) [Barbara Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-steele/) > [You have to see if the batsman is coming out, if he is staying back, what his grip is like, to gauge his intentions.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harbhajan-singh/you-have-to-see-if-the-batsman-is-coming-out-if-he-is-staying-back/) [Harbhajan Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harbhajan-singh/) > [There aren't traditions of freedom in a place like Iraq. They're going to have to come to grips with a concept that they hadn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-wallop/there-aren-t-traditions-of-freedom-in-a-place-like-iraq-they-re-going/) [Malcolm Wallop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-wallop/) ## More by Rex Tillerson > [By the year 2040, the world's population is likely to increase by about 2 billion people, with also projected economic output will be up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rex-tillerson/by-the-year-2040-the-world-s-population-is-likely-to-increase-by/) [Rex Tillerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-tillerson/) > [If you ask the average person on the street about U.S. energy and U.S. oil in particular, our situation, most Americans would say, 'Oh,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rex-tillerson/if-you-ask-the-average-person-on-the-street-about-u-s-energy-and-u-s/) [Rex Tillerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-tillerson/) > [Experience tells us that a good foundation is critical for success in the Arctic and elsewhere. ExxonMobil's Sakhalin-1 project with Rosneft is an example…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rex-tillerson/experience-tells-us-that-a-good-foundation-is-critical-for-success-in/) [Rex Tillerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-tillerson/) > [There are still hundreds of millions, billions of people living in abject poverty around the world. They need electricity. They need electricity they can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rex-tillerson/there-are-still-hundreds-of-millions-billions-of-people-living-in/) [Rex Tillerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-tillerson/) > [In conventional oil and natural gas production, you always produce a lot of formation water, and it's crummy water. It's real salty. 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It has a CO2 footprint,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rex-tillerson/natural-gas-obviously-brings-with-it-a-number-of-quality-of-life/) [Rex Tillerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-tillerson/) [Explore all 9 Rex Tillerson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-tillerson/) ## More 100 years quotes > [If the whole world depends on today's youth, I can't see the world lasting another 100 years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/if-the-whole-world-depends-on-today-s-youth-i-can-t-see-the-world/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [The most significant halachic authority of the last 100 years, whose positions helped fashion a balanced and moderate Judaism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovadia-yosef/the-most-significant-halachic-authority-of-the-last-100-years-whose/) [Ovadia Yosef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovadia-yosef/) > [Separate and unequal didn't work 100 years ago. It will not work today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-kozol/separate-and-unequal-didn-t-work-100-years-ago-it-will-not-work-today/) [Jonathan Kozol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-kozol/) > [Everything we have developed over the last 100 years should be destroyed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pentti-linkola/everything-we-have-developed-over-the-last-100-years-should-be/) [Pentti Linkola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pentti-linkola/) > [“If humans can live for 100 years, why do companies die so young.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sukant-ratnakar/if-humans-can-live-for-100-years-why-do-companies-die-so-young/) [Sukant Ratnakar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sukant-ratnakar/) > [If you look at the history of our country over the last 100 years, there have been periods where science and research have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-zuckerberg/if-you-look-at-the-history-of-our-country-over-the-last-100-years/) [Mark Zuckerberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-zuckerberg/) > [“None of this will matter in 100 years.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/my-anonymous-friend/none-of-this-will-matter-in-100-years/) My Anonymous Friend > [We can't keep thinking in a limited way about what cinema is. We still don't know what cinema is. Maybe cinema could only really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-scorsese/we-can-t-keep-thinking-in-a-limited-way-about-what-cinema-is-we-still/) [Martin Scorsese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-scorsese/) > [That's great. I'm 100 years old and people are still interested.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-fuhr/that-s-great-i-m-100-years-old-and-people-are-still-interested/) Grant Fuhr > [It took Hong Kong 100 years to become what it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liu-xiaobo/it-took-hong-kong-100-years-to-become-what-it-is/) [Liu Xiaobo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liu-xiaobo/) > [Just because society, and government, and whatever was different 100 years ago, doesn't mean that people didn't have sex, pick their nose, or swear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-winslet/just-because-society-and-government-and-whatever-was-different-100/) [Kate Winslet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-winslet/) > [Americans, they have an incredible operatic tradition: the Metropolitan Opera House is - if not the most prestigious - one of the most prestigious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-carreras/americans-they-have-an-incredible-operatic-tradition-the-metropolitan/) [Jose Carreras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-carreras/) > [I wake up in the morning and I still have a passion for what I do, and I'll be doing it when I'm 105,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-collins/i-wake-up-in-the-morning-and-i-still-have-a-passion-for-what-i-do-and/) [Jackie Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackie-collins/) > [Film, if properly cared for, will last almost 100 years, but digital will not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thelma-schoonmaker/film-if-properly-cared-for-will-last-almost-100-years-but-digital/) [Thelma Schoonmaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thelma-schoonmaker/) > [“In days of yore (about 100 years before olden days, but about 50 years later than ancient times),”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/in-days-of-yore-about-100-years-before-olden-days-but-about-50-years/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) Browse all 160 100 years quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When coal came into the picture, it took about 50 or 60 years to displace timber. 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