Negative Effects Of Fossil Fuels

1 What is coal? Coal is a substance we consider today a fossil fuel, created from all the dead plants millions of years ago. Coal is formed from prehistoric plants that when they die are not able to release the energy they built up from photosynthesis Typically the plants had fallen into large swamps and bogs, and then over time the dead plants lying on the bottom of the swamps and bogs were slowly covered with other dead plants and sediment build-up. Once buried the plants were subjected to high amounts of pressure and temperatures, which over long periods of time it becomes peat then eventually creates coal. We refer to coal as a “fossil fuel” today because it is created from prehistoric plants and the coal we have today has been millions of years since it was in plant form. Today we coal is still being created we just don’t fully recognize it because how long the process actually takes.

The U.S obtains more than 84% of its energy from fossil fuels including oil, coal and natural gas. This is because people rely on it to heat their homes, power industries, run vehicles, manufacturing, and provision of electricity. It is apparent that the country’s transportation industry highly depends on conventional petroleum oil, which is responsible for global warming, thus threatening economic opulence and national security. Apart from that, increasing consumption of fossil fuels have elevated health problems in the state, destroyed wild places, and polluted the environment. After conducting Environmental Impact Assessment, projections showed that the world energy consumption would increase by more than 56% between 2010 and 2040. However, fossil fuels will cater for more than 80% of the total energy used in 2040. Sadly, it will be a trajectory to alter the world’s climate, as well as, weaken the global security environment. Importantly, the rate at which the US relies on fossil fuels needs to reduce since it has adverse effects on the planet’s supplies. The society needs to realize that fossil fuels are nonrenewable, thus taking millions of years to form (Huebner, 2003). Notably, the country can reduce dependency on fossil fuels by practicing energy conservation and efficiency,

Thomas Edison once said, “I have not failed 10,000 times. I have succeeded in proving that those 10,000 ways will not work,” he said of his method of experimentation. “When I have eliminated the ways that will not work, I will find the ways that will work.” Up until the late 1830’s electricity was derived from many non-renewable sources such as coal, oil, and natural gases. These are also known as fossil fuels. Fossil fuels are the major energy sources that are being used in the world today. The production of fossil fuels account for more than one-third of U.S global emissions, which trap heat, steadily drive up the plant’s temperature, and create harmful impacts on our health, our environment, and our climate. Their sources are limited and depleting at a faster

Fossil fuels have been used in the United States of America for hundreds of years as a source of energy to power machinery and to do a lot of work more efficiently. If they had not been easily monetized, they would not be so important to the United States’ economy as they are now, but does their effectiveness as an energy source outweigh the damaging effects that burning fossil fuels has on the world? Texas alone emits 641 million metric tons of carbon dioxide, which is not only a massive amount, but also doubles the amount produced by California, the second largest carbon producer in the country (Magill, “Texas, California Lead Nation in Carbon Emissions”). Carbon dioxide is the emission of humans breathing as well, so this may not seem so important at first, but the production of it not only by people, but by industrial factories, transportation, and electricity production, which all can use the combustion of fossil fuels, is poisonous to life on Earth and is slowly heating up the planet. The rising levels of heat due to fossil fuel emissions can have devastating effects on the environment and often leads to the kinds of extreme weather situations that were previously mentioned.

In order to comprehend why we need to shift to alternative energy sources, we must first review the history of fossil fuels and how it transitioned the world during an important era of history. Fossil fuels played an extremely significant role in the era of the Industrial Revolution. The Industrial Revolution began in the eighteenth century. Fossil fuels were the ultimate ideal source of energy during the Industrial Revolution. Coal was especially used the most during the revolution. It burned “cleaner” and hotter than what wood did. The Industrial Revolution without a doubt expanded the use of coal. During the revolution, coal was used for steamships and with the escalating business of transporting goods across the country, it played a major

The environment is negatively affected be the burning of fossil fuels. The affects of the gases contribute to global warming, along with acid rain and polluted air. This pollution cuts short an estimated 30,000 American lives according to the Clean Air Task Force (Rich). The United States must stop using fossil fuels because the gases produce harm the environment we live causing harm to come all the citizens. “The future of energy production will

For over centuries, fossil fuels have been used to fuel houses, cars, and work places, along with many others establishments. Fossil fuels are a necessity in the average persons life. As stated by Clarkson University, of all the energy consumed in the United States, 85.6% is

Everyday in U.S., immense amount of fossil fuel is burned. Fossil fuels are fuel formed by natural processes, such as decomposition of buried dead organisms. Fossil fuel release carbon dioxide when they are burned which adds to the greenhouse effect and increases global warming. The way we can help the environment and reduce the amount of carbon dioxide is by replaying fossil fuels with solar and wind sources for electric power generations in the U.S.

Fossil fuels are necessary for our country to be kept alive. Natural gas, Coal, and oil are very important resources that we use a daily bases to run almost everything you see. Nearly 90% of our country runs of fossil fuels that are non-renewable. The problem with this is that there are cost and effects to using these fossil fuels. Cost of paying for the jobs needed to change these fossil fuels into energy is a very big cost that comes out of every Americans pocket. To pay for these cost we have electricity bills, water bills, gas bills that do not nearly cover the cost to actually make the energy. Some cost we do not notice until it is too late. Fossil fuels have many effects on the health of the general population. When burning fossil

Through out the history of the United states the main source of energy has been conventional Oil, Coal, and gas energy, or better known as Conventional petroleum energy. However as the demand for electricity sky rockets the pollution produced from the traditional fossil fuel burning plants is reaching dangerous levels. Gas, coal and oil burning power plants are as of now responsible for half of America’s air pollution (tripod/online). Not to mention fossil fuels are the greatest contributors to global warming in today’s society.

Coal and natural gas are the United States’ main fossil fuels used as energy sources. These fossil fuels both contain mixtures of hydrocarbons, which is a chemical compound of carbon and hydrogen (Olah, 2005). Currently, fossil fuels provide eighty-five percent of commercial energy, such as businesses, worldwide and this eighty-five percent does not even account for residential use. Imagine if the residential energy use was accounted for in that eighty-five percent (Davison, 2007). According to Goodell (2006), “Between 1950 and 2000, the world population increased by 140 percent and fossil fuel consumption increased by 400 percent. By 2030, the world’s demand for energy is expected to more than double,” with most of the electricity

In today’s society fossil fuels are the primary source of energy for most of the industrialized world. Utilizing fossil fuels has been very important to the industrialization development throughout the world. Industrialization in many parts of the world, energy has been needed at a much higher density then before and fossil fuels have fulfilled that need. Coal, gas, and oil are the three major sources of fossil fuels in the world. Despite other means of energy such as wind power, hydroelectric power etc., fossil fuels are still the main source of energy across the continent. Fossils fuels are critical to the function of society. “Fossil fuels (oil, coal, and natural gas) are the dominant source of energy today and will be for decades to come.” (Everett, B. October).

Fossil fuels have been keeping our country running for quite a long time, throughout our history. The reason why fossil fuels have been so instrumental in our production of energy is the increase in technology. Technology has brought the world ways to dig into the earth and extract oil, which we have been doing quite a bit more of as late. The problem with this increase in drilling and digging for fossil fuels is that there is only so much of it, and cannot be created, or reused. Once, these fossil fuels are all used up, they will no longer be a source of energy for the world to use. This is why we have to find ways to preserve what we have left of these fossil fuels. Currently we do not have enough of an alternative source of energy for the world to run efficiently, and that is a scary situation that we have ourselves in. There are three different types of fossil fuels that we use, and that is where we are going to start.

Fossil fuels are essential to life on earth as we know it today. Our world would certainly be much different if it weren’t for such seemingly simple things such as coal, oil, and natural gas. These basic elements of life on earth may not seem like a major concern to some people until we put into perspective how they have shaped our world today. Civilizations have been built, economies have risen and crumbled, and even wars have been fought over these precious fossil fuels. However, these fossil fuels serve us in ways we may never truly appreciate, as long as we use them as recklessly as we do now. The major entity about fossil fuels is concerning their longevity and permanence in our world, and we all know, they will be around forever.

The United States government, as well as many others around the world, have relied on fossil fuel as an energy source for a long period of time. The extraction, production, and development of these sources have contributed to the many issues with the environment. In addition to this, fossil fuel will not exist forever because there is a limited amount on earth and it cannot be restored. For this reason, the United states should consider substituting fossil fuel with alternative sources of energy. Switching to alternative source may save the Earth and may pose as a more sustainable source of energy.