Fossil fuel
“”"Oil? An emergency? Ha! It's about time the people who run this planet of yours realised that to be dependent on a mineral slime just doesn't make sense."
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| —The Fourth Doctor, Terror of the Zygons |
Fossil fuels Consist of biological material that had decomposed and been placed under extreme pressure for extremely long periods of time (millions of years). They include coal, natural gas, and petroleum.
Fossil fuels are of great importance to the world's energy production as they account for 86% of it. There is great concern over what happens when we run out, as fossil fuels are a non-renewable resource, primarily towards an oil crisis, as it is the most widely used fuel.
There is controversy over the use of fossils fuels due to their damaging environmental effects and dwindling supply.
[edit] How does it work?
When plants or animals die, the potential chemical energy stored is still kept, as this matter is then compressed over time by layers of earth, the same amount of energy will occupy the now smaller space. This in turn makes the matter give off far larger energy output then the more recently deceased. However, as we still are burning almost pure carbon, the main byproduct is carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas.
[edit] Problems with fossil fuels
As mentioned before, the two main problems with using fossils fuels are the byproducts and the fact it's non-renewable. The most common method of using coal to produce electricity releases large amounts of the greenhouse gases produced straight into to the atmosphere. While cheap, it certainly doesn't contribute positively to global warming. There are other coal related methods that are less harmful, mainly clean coal burning, but due to the ever increasing depletion of coal, it seems an unlikely long term solution.
Due to the process in which fossil fuels form they have a limited supply before the "stockpile" must be left to replenish. This would mean essentially a permanent switch from fossil fuels to another renewable energy source. Currently there are no viable alternatives that can be implemented to all areas where fossil fuels are used.