Earth's Dependence on Fossil Fuels

Citizens of countries where fossil fuels are being utilized are concerned at the possible chance of global warming. So many greenhouse gases emitted, ice burgs and caps are shifting or melting, that population is beginning to worry about what is going to happen to the environment in the future if this source is kept being used. With nuclear energy we don’t have to worry about the environmental changes. Nuclear energy has

The United States needs a change in its energy sources. Oil, first of all, is a scarce resource that will eventually run out, and it also makes the U.S. depend on the political situation in other countries, as can be seen at the frequent changes in oil prices due to the political situation in the Middle-East. Alternative energy sources are an important issue to consider and nuclear energy is certainly the most controversial. There are currently 104 nuclear power plants operating in the United States, but the licenses of those plants will expire in foreseeable future, the first one already in 2013 and the last one in 2046 (Nuclear Energy Inst.). Those expiration dates initiate the discussions if the licenses should be renewed for the plants

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

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.

Fossil fuels—coal, petroleum (oil), and natural gas — are concentrated organic compounds found in the Earth’s crust. They are created from the remains of plants and animals that lived millions of years ago in the form of concentrated biomass. According to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), fossil fuels meet 81 percent of U.S. energy demand.

The main cause of climate change is known as the greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect describes how gases such as carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane accumulate in the atmosphere and block heat from escaping the Earth (“A blanket around the Earth”). Trees and other plants absorb these gases (Ramsayer), but as people clear away trees for houses or wood, they tip the balance towards the gases. Additionally, the United States, along with many other countries, is constantly expanding its industrialization. Since much of this industrialization utilizes power sources such as coal plants and oil, the industries that improve the lives of many also threaten the lives of future citizens of the world. While there are many clean alternatives to coal plants, nuclear power being one of them, a complete switch away from coal and oil power would also harm anyone invested in the coal and oil industries. Similarly, nuclear power can provide an ample supply of energy, while releasing no gases into the air, but it also operates on a perilous balance between the elements of nature and human error. To invest in profit rather than clean power, or to utilize nuclear energy, would be to put the future of the world and all future generations at

Building enough power plants to provide the world with energy would mean increasing our CO2 production in the process of making them. Once the power plants are built, although they don't use CO2 to produce energy, to keep the factories running and transport all of the waste releases more CO2 (1). Switching to renewable energy would progress us further into stopping climate change. We would be cutting down on CO2 emissions by a much greater amount. This would make a more significant difference on the climate change (1). This shows that using renewables would make a larger impact on the world and how to help save it. The Industry already has technology to switch to 100% renewables, they just don't want to let go of their nuclear technology (4). Another danger of nuclear power is the risk of terrorism and violence. People are worried that if violent protesters advance on nuclear technology, the amount of violences will increase. This is another reason to end our nuclear technology knowledge while we can (1). Furthermore, not only do nuclear plants harm the industry and economy, they also harm the people and the environment. The evidence is showing that being around nuclear radioactivity causes people to have cancer. Not only does the radiation cause people to have cancer, but it also damages their DNA. Additionally, it harms the environment, not just humans. Animal's are affected in several different forms. Some examples are, Diarrhea, vomiting, internal bleeding, anemia, exhaustion, permanent sterilization and death

Nowadays, energy is pivotal to almost every major challenge and opportunity the world confronts. Be it for jobs, security, climate change, food production or increasing incomes, access to energy for all is essential. Sustainable energy is needed for strengthening economies, protecting ecosystems and achieving equity. In accordance with The UN Conference on Environment and Development, energy consumption is expected to increase dramatically over the next 50 years as the world’s population grows and developing countries become more industrialized. With environmental requirements for lower CO2 emission sources and the need to invest in a sustainable energy mix, new energy sources must be developed. At the same time, climate change is known to be one of the most

Over the past several years, scientists have researched the impact fossil fuels currently have on our world today. These sources of energy have an irreversible and devastating consequence on our environment. Fossil fuels are disliked due to being non-renewable and unsustainable. As more technological advancements have occurred, more efforts have arisen related to replacing fossil fuels with renewable sources of energy. Due to the integration of existing technology the public has become reluctant to adopt new energy technologies. Renewable energy brings many desirable health, environmental, and economic benefits. These renewable methods may ultimately provide a brighter future for generations to come.

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

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.

Today, global energy consumption heavily relies on fossil fuels, such as oil, coal and natural gas, in 2015, Australia relied 86% of the electricity generation on traditional non-renewable energy sources (73% coal, 13% natural gas).1 The burning of these fossil fuels has been very closely associated with carbon and greenhouse gas emission, resulting changes in the climate such as global warming and extreme weathers. The CO2 emissions had increased from estimated 198 megatons in 1850 to an astonishing 32274 megatons in 2011. The CO2 emission increased 160 times in just the last 160 years.2 As such, the exploration of new, clean renewable energy sources becomes increasing important. To meet the ever increasing demand for energy, renewable energy resources like solar, wind, geothermal, tidal wave and biomass have been introduced and successfully made up almost 22% of the global electricity generation in 2013, and the IEA predicted that this number is going to increase to at least 26% by 2020.