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Fossil fuels and alternate sources of energy
What is the effect of fossil fuels on our planet
What is the effect of fossil fuels on our planet
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Fossil fuels which are hydrocarbons found within the top layer of the crust, are natural resources formed by the decomposition of anaerobic buried dead organisms such as dead plants and animals. They fossilize through the exposure of heat and pressure in the Earth’s crust. Fossil fuels are non-renewable resources because of the millions of years they take to be formed; prime examples are coal, natural gas and oil. When coal, natural gas and oil are burnt they release gases into the atmosphere such as carbon dioxide also known as CO2 which is a greenhouse gas that traps heat from the lowest part of the earth’s atmosphere, which also contributes to global warming. There is also Sulfur dioxide (SO2) which is a key contribution to acid rain, Nitrogen oxide (NO) which also contributes to acid rain and smog, as well as health issues. Reserves of fossil fuels are being depleted much faster than new ones are being formed. Our world relies on fossil fuels because they are very essential for the operation of our day to day lives and are thought to be beneficial and make our lives easier. Without them we wouldn’t be able to do simple things like; run our cars, heat our homes or have electricity. There are positive aspects results from fossil fuels; however at the same time there are sever negative impacts on the environment because of the inefficiency and environmentally damaging characteristic of these fossil fuels. The product produced by these fossil fuels is largely the blame for the green house effect. Fossil fuels have a significant effect on the global environment, they cause harm through biomass which is its recovery, transpiration, refining storage and combustion phase. When fossil fuels are recovered, for example oil, the top soi... ... middle of paper ... ... attempt has been successful so far, especially thanks to the creation of hybrid cars, which reduce the amount of fuel consumption. Science has been a great help because it was thanks to scientists doing different researches and trying to find solutions like using hydrogen for cars or electricity instead of fuel and that don’t cause greenhouse gasses effects. The advancement of technology has also had a big impact on find alternatives because there are machines that are used to create newer and better machines that don’t rely on fossil fuels and making a better cleaner and energy efficient world. Works Cited http://www.environmentamerica.org/home/reports/report-archives/new-energy-future/new-energy-future/the-high-cost-of-fossil-fuels www.ems.org/biomass/intro.html http://www.naturalgas.org/environment/naturalgas.as http://www.fusion.org.uk/susdev/fossil.htm
Semantically fossil fuels are a renewable source of energy, however given that it takes millions of years for the organic materials to be broken down and converted, it is wholly unrealistic to consider them as renewable. As the demand for fossil fuels increases and source diminish faster than they are replentished, the United States must work towards a renewable energy independent state using truly renable sources, both technically and in practice. With changes in the home, as consumers in buying goods and with alternative fuel sources backed by public trust and governmental involvement, the United States could drastically lessen its dependence on fossil fuels, foreign and domestic.
In 1908, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) predicted that the total future supply of U.S. oil would not exceed 23 billion barrels. In 1914, the U.S. Bureau of Mines predicted that only 5.7 billion barrels of oil remained. In 1920, the USGS proclaimed the peak in U.S. oil production was almost reached. In 1939, the Department of Interior declared that there was only 13 years of oil production remaining. In 1977, President Jimmy Carter claimed, “We are now running out of oil.” Despite these predictions, the U.S. has produced over 200 billion barrels of oil since the early 1900’s. (The Futurist, 1997)
Fossil fuels are very limited and they are used a lot. Fossil fuels are also very harmful to nature. Carbon emissions, that are produced from the use of fossil fuels, affects the globe
The emission of carbon dioxide has contributed to 80% to the heating of the earth atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is produced due the burning of fossil fuels such as natural gas, coal and oil. The burning of fossil fuel is very important in our society today, because it is used for cooking, used to produce electricity, for heating, for cooling and also for transportation. The industrialization has led to the use of fossil fuel for running machines and driving cars. The building of fossil fuel contributes towards 80-90% of the carbon dioxide we find in our atmosphere today. When the ecosystems are altered and vegetation is either burned or took out, the carbon stored in them is relinquished to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide (What causes global climate change, 2005). Methane is another gas being produced in the process which all have served to increase the greenhouse effect in our atmosphere. Methane is produced from the cultivation of rice, from the burning of coal and from cattle, it has increased by 145% due to human
From the home to factories, families and industries are reliant on the use of nonrenewable fossil fuels to feed the needs of the everyday human. Fossil fuels are the main source of energy over clean, renewable sources such as the use of wind, solar energy, and water to power our homes, schools, and industries. In fact, about 85% of energy use comes from fossils fuels. The main reason being that using fossil fuels is cheaper than wind and solar energy. “For nearly two centuries, fossil fuels have been the cheapest source of energy” and widely abundant (Marburger, A global framework: international aspects of climate change). However, overtime fossil fuels will disappear due to the lack of time to replenish itself with the human races rapid use of it. Despite its current status of availability, there are many controversial issue in using fossil fuels; the most prominent issue being that it is the cause of rapid climate
Carbon dioxide or CO2 is known to be one of a number of gases that are astonishingly transparent to the visible light that falls on the Earth from the Sun, but it absorb the infra-red radiation that emitted by the warm surface of our Earth, to prevents its loss into space. Moreover, CO2 has varied considerably and this affected the Earth’s temperature. Most common source of this CO2 is known as the fossil fuel. Fossil fuels are primarily coal, hydrocarbons, natural gas, or fuel oil that formed from the remains of the dead plants and also animals. The burning fossil fuel that has been created by humans is the largest source of emissions of the carbon dioxide.
There are a number of measures that have already been shown to have a positive effect on the environment and, if we redouble our efforts, could help to reverse the situation. I believe that, while it is true that there is a lot of negative news to this situation, there are many positive and effective actions that can be taken to restore a lot of what we have lost, or are in danger of losing. Consequently, a number of feasible measures can be implemented which will go a long way in slowing, stopping and, over time, reversing some of the harm caused. Initially, and perhaps the most important, is that we need to tackle the problem of carbons in our atmosphere. Consequently, if CO2 emissions are cut or drastically reduced, this will in turn help to reduce the level of greenhouse gases meaning that further global warming will diminish. (Climate Change Evidence and causes, 2013:33) This can be done in a number of ways. By continuing to develop new, greener technologies, cars and traffic in general will become cleaner, emitting fewer exhaust fumes and releasing less carbon into the air. This is already being done. At the recent UN climate-change conference in Doha, some 37 countries agreed to abide by legally-binding emission reduction measures. (Figureres C, 2012) We have seen the development of more efficient engines and hybrid models that use both petrol and electricity. Electric-only vehicles are also becoming more popular and new designs that are powered by solar energy are coming onto the market. Industry is also looking at ways to harness bio-mass and the possibility of hydrogen engines. These measures have already had a noticeable effect on the quality of life in a number of
Fossil fuels have been a very crucial source of energy since the discovery of coal. Because they are available and meet economic demand, popularity of fossil fuels has grown, but the pollution they emit has gained attention of many modern energy companies. Between the 1940’s and 1950’s, concerns began to rise about fossil fuel pollution when smog, created by burning these fuels, emerged in Europe and the United States. It caused many illnesses and deaths among humans as well as animals (Issitt & Warhol). Fossil fuels generate eighty percent of the world’s energy: this energy system is the cause of two thirds of global CO2 emissions (Foster & Elzinga). Without question, fossil fuels are environmentally unsafe, as well as dangerous to human health. Evidently, others feel that they are the best source of energy, however alternative energy creates very little to no pollution. Alternative energies, such as solar and wind energy, emanate no pollution. Solar power uses energy from the sun to produce electricity. A flat-plate collector, or solar panel, is the most common collector of this type of energy. The panel contains solar cells that change light from the sun
Over the last two centuries, humanity has become increasingly reliant on fossil fuels. Over that time, the consequences of constantly burning fossil fuels have accumulated into a threat to industrialized cities. The burning of fossil fuels causes acid rain to shower on cities and ecosystems around the world, tormenting their inhabitants. The increasingly deadly pollution caused by the burning of fossil fuels has caused the deaths of many people around the world by causing respiratory problems. Not only has the pollution worsened, but the supply of fossil fuels is not limitless – as humanity’s reliance increases the supply decreases, and that is all the more reason to break humanity’s reliance on fossil fuels. Fossil fuels should be replaced with cleaner alternatives because fossil fuels cause environmental hazards, are non-renewable, and are detrimental to human health.
The effects of using fossil fuels are starker than their timelines. Humans release approximately two billion metric tons of pollution annually, mostly from the burning of coal, oil, and natural gas; this pollution is destroying our environment and the ozone layer. Ozone and smog damage forests, crops, and other plant life, and reduces visibility. Other pollutants have the same
The emission of green house gasses due to human activity contributes the most in increasing global warming. Today, fossil fuels are used as a source of energy for transportation, electricity, industrial process and to increase human comfort in this era. Over the last decade humans have created mass amount of industries. These industries have been burning fossil fuels such as coal, which release carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide; carbon dioxide absorbs heat that raises the temperature of the earth. More than 80% of carbon dioxide comes from tr...
Some of the ways we try to combat Climate Change differes from region to region and culure to culture. One of the remedies that seems to be adapting all around the world is the use of biofuels instead of using fossil fuels. People believe that instead of digging up and using oil and petroleum, our best solution to combat greenhouse gases emitted by fossil fuels is to plant soybeans, sugar cane, palm oil and use that as a replacement. More cars are flex fuled, and use ethenol mixed with petroleum to lessen the use of oil since oil prices are only going to increase with the decreasing amount that is
Fuel alternatives for the future are very important because, we need resources for life. We won’t have fossil fuels forever. It is important to start now. If we did not have any fuel alternatives how would the world be?
Fossil fuels are an important part of life. When you turn on the lights, watch TV, or take a shower, the electricity that you are using is being generated by fossil fuels. The three types of fossil fuels are coal, crude oil, and natural gas. They all take millions of years to form, so they are considered to be “non-renewable”- eventually, the fossil fuels will all be used up. One dangerous biological effect of using fossil fuels is ocean acidification. Extracting and transporting fossil fuels can also be very dangerous. Environmentally damaging accidents such as groundwater contamination, land subsidence, and oil spills occur frequently. Global warming is another possible environmental effect. Fossil fuels have a crucial role in modern society, but since they are non-renewable and dangerous, we should reduce our dependence on them and explore alternative energy sources. Wind energy, hydroelectricity, and solar energy are some examples of renewable fuel sources. There are also many things that people can do everyday to save energy (and, in turn, conserve fossil fuels).
Fuels like coal, and oil that once were a fine innovation in creating energy are now rapidly deleting and one day will be gone forever; energy that won’t last is often referred to as non-renewable energy. Besides being set up to fail and become inefficient in the future, fossil fuel energy is not clean to use and poses several environmental complications. Coal, for instance is “the dirtiest of all fossil fuels. Coal combustion not only produces sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides that contribute to acid rain and snow, it generates millions of tons of particulates that cause asthma and other respiratory diseases.” As with all usage of fossil fuels, it creates enormous amounts of carbon dioxide, which contributes to greenhouse gas. Not only are fossil fuels dirty, they also pose as a security risk and unforgiving on the American wallet. (Saini)