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Fossil Fuels

Fossil fuels perhaps our most dependent energy source on Earth which our society relies on to fulfill its power supply needs. These resources have been an essential part of human energy consumption and until recently were the primary means of providing power for transportation systems. Transportation still heavily supports the need for fossil fuels however trends in automotive and public transportation development are looking alternative energy resources to supply power for transportation needs.

What are fossil fuels?

Fossil fuels are fuel resources which are acquired from compressed carbon deposits left behind by life which has been buried in the earth for millions of years. The compression from pressure and heat from the Earth ultimately causes the carbon trapped within dead plant and animal life to a source of fuel which can be burned to release heat energy. Fossil fuels are coal, oil, petroleum and natural gas is also considered to be a fossil fuel. Fossil fuel is characterized by its emission of carbon dioxide in the process of burning it for power consumption.

Burning Fossil Fuels

One of the most controversial arguments about the burning of fossil fuels is the emission of greenhouse gases produced as a byproduct of energy generation. Debates whether the effects of greenhouse gas emission causes the Earth to heat up in a process referred to as “Global Warming” or to the politically correct “Climate Change” has spurred between myriad communities in recent decades. Not only are these concepts heavily in debate by the scientific community, but politicians also utilizes environmental conservation as a basis for their political platforms.

Fossil Fuel Energy

Energy is currently being produced around the world using fossil fuel resources in coal and natural gas power plants. These types of plants make up a large portion of energy created worldwide because they are generally a cost effective method of producing electricity. The downside of using this type of technology to produce energy is the carbon emissions and environmental damages that occur as a side effect of burning fossil fuels, and the lack of sustainability of this energy source. The process in which it takes to create these elements occurs over hundreds of thousands of years making it virtually impossible for humans to renew supplies of fossil fuels in our species’ lifetime.

Because of the environmental side effects and depletion of resources, the latest trends in energy production have been to discover a cost effective renewable energy resource which can be utilized in an eco-friendly manner.