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Environmental effects caused by the usage of fossil fuels
Advantages and disadvantages of fossil fuels
Environmental effects caused by the usage of fossil fuels
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There are three main fossil fuels; oil coal and natural gas were all formed hundreds of million years ago before the time of the dinosaurs (Energy Quest, 2012). The period of time that the fossil fuels were formed was the Carboniferous Period. It got the name from the word “carbon” which is the basic element in coal and other fossil fuels (Energy Quest). According to (Energy Quest, 2012) these fossil fuels were formed in prehistoric times from a material called peat which after enough pressure was built on top of it, peat would then squeeze out water which over millions of years turned into coal, oil, petroleum or natural gas. Fossil fuels are termed as non-renewable for several reasons. These fossil fuels take millions of years to make
The first advantage being that the fossil fuels are easily available. More and more fuels are being found everyday with new advancements in technology and extracting strategies, making it easy to find and extract the resource as well (Conserve-Future-Energy). Another advantage would be that these fossil fuels produce a large amount of energy. Fossil fuels have been serving as an energy source for centuries whether it’s for vehicles or other machines, a majority of these devices are ran on fossil fuels (Conserve-Future-Energy). The next advantage has to do with the calorific value. The greater the value the more effective it is, and fossil fuels happen to be the highest producers of calorific value in terms of energy (Conserve-Future-Energy). Transportation is another big advantage of using fossil fuels. Fossil fuels can be easily transported from one place to another for use. Whether it is natural gas, oil or coal all are easy to transport from one location in the world to another (Conserve-Future-Energy). Other advantages that make fossil fuels a large source of energy are that they are abundantly available, they come at a relatively low cost for users and lastly, they are easier to extract and produce than other sources of energy (Conserve-Future-Energy,
Coal is by far the most abundant of fossil fuels, and will be available for much longer than oil. Having been harvested and burned since the 13th century, a massive infrastructure has been formed to quickly and efficiently mine, deliver, and burn coal. Coal is also the cheapest of fossil fuels (The Futurist, 1997)
In today’s world humans are consuming massive amounts of fossil fuels. The top five oil consuming countries in the world are the usual suspects. These include the United States, China, Japan, India and Russia. Canada comes in at number 10 with a daily consumption of 2,287 thousand barrels per day. There are three major types of fossil fuels: coal, oil and natural gas. These resources were formed during the Carboniferous Period 360-286 million years ago. During this time earth was covered in swamps with large amounts of plants and waters filled with algae. When these plants and trees began to die they would form layers of peat. Hundreds and thousands of years would pass adding sand and other materials on top of the peat. This formed the sedimentary rocks we know today. As the thousands of years turned into millions of years the water of the peat layer was pushed out of the peat until the layer of diatoms turned into coal, oil or natural gas (CEC, 2013). Canada has oil industry throughout the country and currently 12 out of 13 provinces are active in the oil industry. Natural gas production is occurring in British Columbia, Alberta, Quebec, and New Brunswick. Natural gas could also become large industry in Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland & Labrador, Yukon and the Northwest Territories. Oil production is currently taking place in the provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland & Labrador (CAPP, 2013).
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
Widely because fossil fuels are the number one source of energy in the world today. Humans consume 3,570,000,000 gallons of gas in just one day! Using fossil fuels is extremely dangerous to our environment, but there are plenty of ways one can reduce their fossil fuel intake. Carpooling with your friends to school, work, and just in general is a great choice to make. Not only would it improve the environment, but it would save money, too. Another great way to cut down on fossil fuels is to walk to get from place to place. Walking is an easy way to get an exercise in and is even proven to increase happiness. No matter how big or small, any change will help combat global
Fuel is material such as coal, gas, or oil that is burned to produce heat of power. Energy is an indirectly observed quantity. It is often understood as the ability a physical system has to do work on other physical systems. Fossil fuels are the natural substances made deep within the Earth from the remains of ancient plants and animals. Fossil fuels can be created when organic deposits from millions of years ago break down and decompose. This material can then be burned to create energy. Fossil fuels include coal, peat and petroleum oil.
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.
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.
Fossil fuels are an unreliable and unsafe source for worldwide energy. Our common fuels will run out as in: Ethanol, Petroleum, and Oil. Honestly we need those fuels for life, to drive cars, four wheelers, lawn mowers, and tractors, etc. If we did not have those things anymore our ways of living will drastically decrease. People in our society are so use to driving vehicles that if that gets taken away World War III would start. We use lawn mowers to cut our grass, to keep our land in shape and pretty. We also use tractors for multiple things not only to keep big pastures in shape, but also to use for logging. People do logging for a living. Without tractors their job would be very intense.(conserve-energy-future.com)
There are three types of fossil fuels- coal, crude oil, and natural gas. Coal was formed very slowly. Even the “newest” coal we use today was formed a million years ago. Most of the coal we use was formed 300 million years ago, when the Earth was covered with swamps. When plants and trees died, they sank to the bottoms of the swamps. These plants and trees were layered on top of each other, forming a substance called peat. Peat is considered the first stage in coal formation. It is a mixture of water, leaves, braches, and other plant debris. Over time, the Earth changed, and deposits of sand, clay, and other minerals were formed, burying the peat. Sedimentary rock...
The use of fossil fuels on a large scale, specifically coal, began with the Industrial Revolution in England. Industries/corporations first used coal as a main source of energy to fuel their factories, and it became even more popular when railroads started. According to the United States Energy Department, "...by the early 20th century coal had become the major fuel in the United States, accounting for nearly 75% of the nation's energy requirements." Soon after, newer and cheaper fossil fuels, such as oil and natural gas, were high in demand. Energy Supplies, Sustainability, and Costs, by Sandra Alters, states oil was used as the main source of fuel to heat homes and offices, and gas powered the growing number of cars (57). "Oil shoved aside coal as the world's primary fuel, just as coal had replaced wood", says Tom Mast in Over a Barrel: A Simple Guide to the Oil Shortage (15). Most Americans were not concerned wit...
Fossil fuels are energy that is in the form of coal, oil, or natural gas that comes from organisms from millions of years ago. The cycle to create fossil fuels takes millions of years to form and is therefore considered a nonrenewable resource of energy. Fossil fuels have been the primary source of energy for man ever since the age of machines, but one of “the main problem[s] with fossil fuels is that there is a limited amount of them” (Problem with Fossil Fuel). As countries become more developed, like the United States, they too will become more thirsty and dependent for fossil fuels. “In 2004, America spent approximately $270 billion to fufill its oil need.” and “90% of all transportation is fueled by oil” (Nakaya 10). With the global rate of fossil fuels going up it is inevitable that they are going to run out, forcing countries to choose an alternative energy source. The other huge problem with dependence on fossil fuels is the effect that the emissions have on the climate. Fossil fuels are made of carbon chains and in order for the reaction...
The concept of this essay is to stress that biofuels are a viable and sustainable energy source than fossil fuels, showing its advantages but not ignoring its disadvantages which also enlightens us about the cleaner and renewable natural resources. Biofuels is an alternative source of energy which can end the global dependence on fossil fuels.
Fossil fuels are divided into three major forms coal, oil and natural gas, Formed hundreds of millions of years ago from organic material. The importance of the fossil fuels comes from the energy that is generated when it burned which is used in many applications such as transportation, producing electricity beside industrial processes. Also, the fossil fuels are cheap, efficient and easy to transport and storage near the power stations. In addition, the statistics shows that Coal provides around 28% of energy, oil 40% and Natural gas 20% (Darvill.Clara, 2013). However, we cannot overlook the negative impact of fossil fuels on the environment. It is considered the main reason for greenhouse gas emissions such as carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides (NOx), causing the global warming and acid rain. Likewise, the...
There are two types of resources using to produce electricity, non-renewable energy resources and renewable energy resources. Non-renewable energy resources or known by fossil fuel such as wood, oil, gas and coal can be defined as solid, liquid or gaseous fuels formed in the ground after millions of years by chemical and physical changes in plants and animal residues under high temperature and pressure.
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)