Fossil fuels are formed from decayed prehistoric plants and animals that lived millions of years ago (Science Daily). According to the United States Department of Energy, when ancient living plants and animals died, they decomposed and became buried under layers of mud, rock, and sand. After millions of years, these plants and animals slowly decomposed into organic material. Depending on what combination of plant and/or animal debris was decomposed, different types of fossil fuels were formed. These fossil fuels are then converted into coal, oil, and natural gas (United States Department of Energy). With this in mind, fossil fuels take millions of years to form and once used they can never be used again, leaving them to be known as nonrenewable resources.
Each type of fossil fuel releases different substances into the air when being used. For example coal is a hard rich-like substance that is made up of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and varying amounts of sulfur. Obviously, when burned these elements are released into the atmosphere (California Energy Commission). Coal is available in almost every country in the world, with the biggest reserves in the United States, Russia, China, and India.
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
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.
Coal, crude oil, and natural gas are all considered fossil fuels because they were formed from the buried remains of plants and animals that lived millions of years ago.
Currently fossil fuels are the world’s primary energy source. The fossil fuels include coal, petroleum, and natural gases. Fossil fuels are organic materials formed from decayed plants and animals that due to heat and pressure from hundreds of
It has come to conclusion that fossil fuels are organic materials that are buried in combustible geologic deposits of organic materials. These fossil fuels are formed from decayed organic materials, animals and rocks that have been converted to crude oil, coal, natural gas, or heavy oils by exposure to heat and pressure in the Earth's crust for a very long time. Changing the use of energy can cause effects such as; economic issues and environmental issues. Although, energy is in need of production, many
There is a common misconception that fossil fuels come from dead dinosaurs, and while this is not actually true, fossil fuels do come from dead plans and animals, however they were dead long before the dinosaurs roamed the earth (U.S. Department of Energy). The type of animal and plant, as well as the varied combinations these could create, determine the type of fossil fuel that was formed (U.S. Department of Energy): oil, natural gas, or coal. The EIA defines fossil fuels as “concentrated organic compounds found in the Earth’s crust” (Fossil Fuels). This means that fossil fuels are formed when
There is a common misconception that fossil fuels come from dead dinosaurs, and while this is not actually true, fossil fuels do come from dead plans and animals, however they were dead long before the dinosaurs roamed the earth (U.S. Department of Energy). The type of animal and plant, as well as the varied combinations these could create, determine the type of fossil fuel that was formed (U.S. Department of Energy): oil, natural gas, or coal. The EIA defines fossil fuels as “concentrated organic compounds found in the Earth’s crust” (Fossil Fuels). This means that fossil fuels are formed when
Contradictory to what many people believe, fossil fuels are not dead dinosaur remains. “In fact, most of the fossil fuels we find today were formed millions of years before the first dinosaurs” (“Fossil Energy: How Fossil Fuels Were Formed,” n.d.). They were formed from prehistoric plants and animals that lived many millions of years ago and are considered non-renewable because they are not sustainable and cannot be easily replaced due to their formation taking billions of years. “When these ancient living things died, they decomposed and became buried under layers and layers of mud, rock, and sand. Eventually, hundreds and sometimes thousands of feet of earth covered them” (“Fossil Energy: How Fossil Fuels Were Formed,” n.d.). In some
Contradictory to what many people believe, fossil fuels are not dead dinosaur remains. “In fact, most of the fossil fuels we find today were formed millions of years before the first dinosaurs” (“Fossil Energy: How Fossil Fuels Were Formed,” n.d.). They were formed from prehistoric plants and animals that lived many millions of years ago and are considered non-renewable because they are not sustainable and cannot be easily replaced due to their formation taking billions of years. “When these ancient living things died, they decomposed and became buried under layers and layers of mud, rock, and sand. Eventually, hundreds and sometimes thousands of feet of earth covered them” (“Fossil Energy: How Fossil Fuels Were Formed,” n.d.). In some areas, these materials were covered by ancient seas before they dried up. “During the millions of years that passed, the dead plants and animals slowly decomposed into organic materials and formed fossil fuels. Different types of fossil fuels were formed depending on what combination of animal and plant debris was present, how long the material was buried, and what conditions of temperature and pressure existed when they were decomposing” (“Fossil Energy: How Fossil Fuels Were Formed,” n.d.). For example, oil and natural gas were created from plants and/or animals that lived in the water and were buried under bodies of water such as oceans, rivers, etc.
Most people have a theory that the fossil fuels we have today are from the remains of dead dinosaurs. Which is in fact not true, but what is true is that these fossil fuels were at one time alive. They formed when prehistoric animals and plants died and were covered by rock and other plant growth (energy.gov 2014). Organic matter, along with varying temperatures and pressure worked together to produce the fossil fuels. Different types of fossil fuels were developed depending on how much pressure and what the temperature was involved at the time of the forming of these fossil fuels. (energy.gov 2014). These fossil fuels, what are today known mainly as coal, oil, and natural gas, were the different types of fossil fuels that were developed and which are the ones that are still being used today. According to the U.S. department of energy, oil and natural gas were formed from living things in the ocean, which were then buried under the ocean sediments. Later, the seas and oceans evaporated and they began to compress with heat and pressure under the silt, which is how oil was formed. With that, some of the oil continued to sink underground and kept compressing and causing pressure, which in turn produced natural gas. Coal formed from the dead remains of trees, ferns and other plants that lived 300 to 400 million years ago. In some areas, such as portions of what-is-now the eastern United States, coal was formed from swamps covered by sea water.
Fossil fuels run the world. 78% of the world uses fossil fuels to generate their country's electricity. Only 22% of the world electricity use solar and wind, which are renewable energy sources. Many people today use fossil fuels which include natural gas, oil ,and petroleum.Fossil fuels are very bad for the environment because they cause air pollution and greenhouse gasses to be released. Air pollution and greenhouse gasses can be reduced if cities and suburbs transition to renewable energy.
To begin, it is common knowledge: fossil fuels are nonrenewable, or even more specific, not replenished naturally. To elaborate in a more accurate way, according to Energy informative, “this is not entirely correct, as fossil fuels are products of millions of years of natural processes such as anaerobic decomposition. The thing is, as opposed to renewable energy sources, it takes millions of years before the formation of fossil fuels takes place in any noteworthy quantities” (Maehlum). Aforementioned, the amount of fossil fuels produced and consumed is unmatched by renewable
The formation of the other two fossil fuels (crude oil and natural gas) took millions of years just like coal. Oil and gas come from the remains of small animals and plants. Long ago, when the animals and plants died, they sank to the bottom of the sea. The dead matter formed a large mass, which over time was covered by layers of sand, silt, and mud. As the weight of the sediment increased, the mass became more and more compressed. Then, the heat and pressure of the Earth eventually turned the mass into oil and gas. If the heat applied during the formation was low, then more oil was produced than gas. If the temperature was
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 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.
Fossil fuels are hydrocarbons, primarily coal, fuel oil or natural gas created from the decade of dead plants and animals. Fossil fuels are formed through the natural process. So they are considered as un-renewable resources because the formation of fossil fuels may take millions of years and the feasible reserves are being run-down much faster than new ones are being made. The use of fossil fuel was started in the industrial revolution with the invention of the steam engine. All fired power stations like nuclear, coal, gas and oil are still working on the same principle of the steam engine. Still, fossil fuels are controlling to change the structure of our global economy. After the invention of the steam engine by James Watt (1769) brought widely increased the energy efficiency. After this invention, the use of fossil fuels is increased rapidly. This helps to give a