There are 3 main types of Fossil Fuels.
Coal
How is coal made?
380 million years of pressure. It starts as plant life from 3.29 billion years ago in the Coniferous period. The plant life got stuck in swamp water and couldn’t decompose properly.
Stages of Coal:
- Peat
- Lignite
- Subbituminous
- Bituminous
- Anthracite
Oil
Oil is made up of plankton, mostly zion.
Americans collect 9.4 billion cans of oil, meaning there are 352 million cans of oil every day. Each can is equal to 42 gallons. When oil is accidentally burned, it produces carbon dioxide, sulfur oxide. This is not nearly as dangerous as the oil spill itself, which kills millions of animals.
The mining process of oil releases carbon and a carbon tax might stop this.
Natural Gas
Is formed under even more intense heat and pressure than either coal or oil, changing it to gas form.
Environmental Impacts
Air pollution: a mixture of solid particles and gasses in the air that can contaminate the atmosphere
Global Warming: the term used to describe a gradual increase in the average temperature of the Earth’s atmosphere and oceans, a change that is believed to be permanently changing the Earth’s climate
(CO2) Emission: the production and discharge of something, especially gas or radiation
Coal leads to smog, acid rain, air pollution, toxins. A ⅓ of our carbon dioxide emissions come from coal-fired power plants.
Lead, arsenic, and mercury are released into the atmosphere with the burning of coal, each of which is disastrous to health.
Oil is used to power vehicles and make plastics. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is released, which contributes to global warming when oil is burned. It can also release sulfur which leads to acid rain.
Oil can destroy the insulating ability of fur animals and water repellency of birds.
The main contributor to CO2 emissions are cars, which use oil.
Alternative Energy Sources
Coal, natural gas, oil -> old energy resources
Fossil fuels are formed over hundreds of millions of years, composed of decomposed organic matter and certain conditions create certain fossil fuels.
Renewable resource: a substance that can be replenished just as fast it is being drawn out and used (fossil fuels are not a renewable resource)
Energy efficiency: The corresponding amount of energy produced by a given amount of fuel
How much do we really use?
Equivalent of 11 billion tons of oil in fossil fuels per year
4 billion tons of oil every year
By 2088, we are expected to run out of most fossil fuels
Clean energy source: an energy that does not pollute the atmosphere when used
Solar, wind turbines, biomass (plants, paper, wood, clothing), tidal energy, geothermal
Alternatives and why aren’t we using them?
Wind, solar, biomass and geothermal are all renewable sources; however, their energy yield is much lower than fossil fuels
Political Ramifications of Energy Sources
Export: when a product is taken to another country
Fossil fuels: hydrocarbons trapped under the surface of the earth
Energy-dependence: not producing all of our own fuels
Continents with most Energy Resources
Middle East: Oil
Asia and Australia: Coal
China burns the most coal, which is why it's highly polluted
North America: Natural Gas
Economy and the Environment
When the cost is high for oil companies, its low for us
When the cost is low for companies, the cost is high for us
There is no perfect energy source
Fossil fuels: energy dense but leads to global climate change
Renewable sources: highly energy inefficient
Hydropower: efficient but leads to problems in the water environment
Conclusion
According to what we have learned today, I conclude that methanol and ethanol would be the most efficient ways to harness energy if we figure out a way to produce enough energy sufficient corn to produce it.
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