Essay on Fossil Fuels and Alternative Energy Sources

“Pollution is the biggest drawback to burning fossil fuels.” (Fossil Fuel Power pg. 22). Smog, acid rain, and unhealthy chemicals are all effects from fossil fuels and can be quite detrimental to the environment. “Ninety percent of the energy used in the United States comes from fossil fuels” (Energy Crisis the future of fossil fuels pg. 12). This arises questions concerning global warming. Chemical gasses trapped in a confined space (as in the earth) cause global warming. Fossil fuels will certainly exacerbate this theory.

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.

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

Some nitrous oxides sulfur oxides lead to acid rain. It can have harmful effects on plants, animals and buildings. Oil spill in Gulf of Mexico this year caused ecological disaster. “An explosion occurred on the semi-submersible offshore drilling rig Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico, killing 11 rig workers and injuring 17 others. On April 24, it was found that the wellhead was damaged and was leaking oil into the Gulf. This significant spill poses a serious threat to wildlife, affecting as many as 400 species along the coastal areas of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida.” (Curry L. Hagerty, 2010) The number of fossil fuels is limited. Even they are enough now. Are they still enough in 50 years? So it is a time for our human beings to decide how to deal with the relationship with fossil fuels.

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.

The energy we get from coal today comes from the energy that plants absorbed from the sun millions of years ago. When an area is to be mined, topsoil and subsoil are removed from the rock and so is another material, call overburden, to expose the bed of coal. All living plants give solar energy through photosynthesis. When plants die the energy gets out as the plants decay. The whole decaying process gets interrupted which prevents the release of the stored solar energy, then the energy stays locked in the coal. The plant material gets subjected to high temperatures and pressures which causes physical and chemical changes in the vegetation, transforming it into peat and then into coal. The formation of peat is the first step in the geological formation of fossil fuels such as coal. Peat plants is not only the first step for formation but they also capture CO2 itself. There are many effect to the environment when it comes to coal; an example is AMD which stands for Acid mine drainage; it includes the outflow of acidic water from coal mines or metal mines. Mines exposed rocks containing pyrite which reacts to water and air to form acid and dissolved iron and can easily wash into rivers and streams. Coal is a huge impact when it comes to hurting our

It is a known fact that fossil fuels are detrimental to the environment. The gases made from extracting and producing the fossil fuels insulate the planet, which can potentially lead to catastrophic

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.

Sub-bituminous coal is a mixture of Lignite and Bituminous. This coal has a lower sulfur content which makes it a popular choice as a cleaner burning fuel for electricity and space heating. Bituminous coal is black in color and has the second highest heating value. This coal is used primarily in electric power generation, as well as heat and power applications in the manufacturing sector. Anthracite coal is a glossy black coal. This coal has the highest heating value out of all the coal types. Anthracite is the hardest coal and is used for home heating and steel production. Canada has large coal deposits and it is their largest most abundant fossil fuel. Canada has all four types of coal which more than 90% of the deposits are located in the western provinces. Canada has an estimated 6.6 billion tons of coal that could be mined. Mining coal in Canada takes place across four different provinces: British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia. In these provinces there are a total of 24 coal producing mines. British Columbia is the leading province with 10 mines in operation. The province of Alberta has a total of 9 coal mines, while Saskatchewan has 3 and Nova Scotia has 2 mines in operation. Coal mining in Canada is done by surface mining. There are two different styles of surface mining which are strip mining or open pit mining (CAC, 2013).

Not only the problem of lack of resources but also but also they pollutes the environment. If the fossil fuels are used in this way for some more years ,It may difficult to breath in the future and many things which are harmful to the earth may happen like global warming .this may leads in danger to the lives of creatures.

Polar bears are the most known animals for the impacts of climate change on species. Global warming has been most prominent in the Arctic, and this trend is expected to continue. Their dependence on sea ice makes them highly vulnerable to a changing climate. Polar bears greatly rely on the sea ice environment for traveling, hunting, mating, resting, and in some areas, maternal dens (WWF). Specifically, they depend heavily on sea ice-dependent prey such as seals. Additionally, their long generation time and low reproductive rate may limit their ability to adapt to changes in the environment. Every time people breathe or burn something, oxygen in the air is converted to carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide is used by plants to breathe and is converted back to oxygen, creating a cycle. If there is an increase in oxygen burning, for example, burning a lot of coal or oil to generate electricity or run cars, and cut down trees, the amount of carbon dioxide in the air is increased. This makes the air thicker and warms up the earth. The amount of warming is only a few degrees but it is enough to disturb the fragile balance of nature, which in turn will melt the polar ice, raise sea levels, cause violent hurricanes and endanger species such as polar bears. The polar bears are just one example of endangered animals because of the high demand of human need for energy which is acquired by burning fossil fuels.

Coal, oil, and gas were all formed from the remains of decayed and decomposing ancient animals and plants (Science Daily 2014). These fossil fuels we produced far before the dinosaurs ever roamed the earth, during the Carboniferous Period (Chapter 8 2012). This period of time, estimated around 360-286 million-years-ago, is believed to be when the earth was covered mostly in trees, plants, and swamps, and the bodies of water existing at the time were all filled with hundreds-of-millions of small plants called algae.

Finding energy sources is an issue that polarizes scientists, politicians and citizens alike. The most critical points of this debate are at fossil fuels and renewable energy. Energy efficiency is arguably the most dire concern facing the planet, because it significantly impacts all areas of everyday life. Common ground can be found in this controversy because both parties do agree that humans have a responsibility to future generations. That responsibility is to preserve the resources of the Earth, while offering this generation energy that is affordable and accessible.

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

The world currently functions through the use of fossil fuels. However, fossil fuels possess two significant disadvantages. Fossil fuels harm the global environment because they enhance the greenhouse effect by releasing carbon dioxide, and they release other harmful