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 important to society. However, with the onset of the industrial revolution over 200 years ago, wood alone could no longer support the increasing energy demand. The world quickly turned to coal to satisfy its energy needs, and it has been reliant on fossil fuels ever since. Despite the inroads renewable and nuclear energies have made in recent 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 know 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 earth. Algae that were in the ocean during this time used the sun ¡Ã‚ ¯s radiant energy to produce energy 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 accumulated 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 rock. If this source rock is exposed to temperatures between 80 ¢Ã‚ ªC and 160 ¢Ã‚ ªC, the organic matter forms into oil. Natural gas will form if the source rock is exposed to temperatures between 80 ¢Ã‚ ªC and 225 ¢Ã‚ ªC(Marshak 431-2). The  ¡Ã‚ °gas window ¡Ã‚ ± overlaps the  ¡Ã‚ °oil window ¡Ã‚ ±, which means the formation of oil and ... ... which is having a tremendous impact on the environment. By burning 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 significantly 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 reserves 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 Cited Marshak, Stephen. Earth: 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.