The national parks preceded the National Park Service, but the first great natural park was a state park. Californiaâs Yosemite State Park was established in 1864, by a federal cession approved by President Abraham Lincoln, and on October 21, 1880, President Rutherford B. Hayes toured Californiaâs Yosemite in an open carriage.
In fact, humans have been capturing the energy of moving water for thousands of years. Today, harnessing the power of moving water to generate electricity, known as hydroelectric power, is the largest source of emissions-free, renewable electricity in the United States and worldwide.
The cooled water then goes back into the boiler where it is heated again and the process repeats over and over. Most power plants in California use cleaner-burning natural gas to produce electricity. Others use oil or coal to heat the water. Nuclear power plants use nuclear energy to heat water to make electricity. Still others, called geothermal power plants, use steam or hot water found naturally below the earth's surface without burning a fuel. We'll learn about those energy sources in the next few chapters.