Fossil Fuels Essay examples -- Energy, Environmental Essays, Natural R

Fossil Fuels Energy, whether it was sunlight or heat from a wood fire, has always been authorised to society. However, with the onset of the industrial revolution over 200 years ago, wood alone could no longer support the increasing expertness demand. The world quickly turned to coal to satisfy its button needs, and it has been reliant on fossil fuels ever since. Despite the inroads renewable and nuclear energies have made in new decades, the vast majority of energy used by society still comes from the three main fossil fuels petroleum, natural gas, and coal. As a result, it is important to populate how these fuels were formed, the rates at which they are produced and consumed, and how much is economically recoverable for future use. The formation of petroleum and natural gas began hundreds of millions of years ago as energy from the sun in the form of light radiated toward the existence. Algae that were in the ocean during this time used the suns radiant energy to produce ene rgy of their own through the process of photosynthesis. Plankton, being unable to produce energy on its own, consumed algae to obtain energy. When the algae and plankton died, they fell to the ocean floor and accrued in the mud. As accumulation continued, pressure and temperature were increased on the underlying layers of organic mud. When the pressure became great enough, the mud lithified into organic-rich shale that is referred to as the source thrill. If this source rock is exposed to temperatures between 80C and 160C, the organic matter forms into oil. Natural gas impart form if the source rock is exposed to temperatures between 80C and 225C(Marshak 431-2). The gas window overlaps the oil window, which means the formation of oil and ... ... which is having a tremendous impact on the environment. By burn these fossil fuels, the US releases five billion metric tons of CO2 into the atmosphere each year(Ristinsen 333). This number will increase in the coming years, which will s ignificantly affect the global climate of the future. Despite the limited amount of petroleum and natural gas, the addition of shale oil and tar sands to our energy militia will increase the longevity of fossil fuel use in society. Alternative sources of energy must become more widely used, or else the earth will become uninhabitable due to the effects of global warming sooner than the fossil fuel reserves can be depleted. Works CitedMarshak, Stephen. hide Portrait of a Planet. W.W. Norton & Company New York, 2001.Ristinen, Robert A Jack J. Kraushaar. Energy and the Environment. John Wiley & Sons New York, 1999.