Earth's Dependence on Fossil Fuels
EARTH’S DEPENDENCE ON FOSSIL FUELS
CINDY MOYER
AXIA COLLEGE
UNIVERSITY OF PHOENIX
In today’s world, more and more people are becoming aware of the problems that are caused by the use of fossil fuel and are looking for earth-friendly and economical energy to use as a source to heat and cool their homes, drive their vehicles, use electric or whatever they do to use energy. Scientists are busy thinking up a variety of ways of producing renewable energy to replace the use of non-renewable energy.
Fuel that has taken millions of years to create from the decomposition of the plant and animal matter is known as fossil fuel. What we call oil, coal and natural gases are fossil fuels and they are made up of hydrocarbons. When hydrocarbons are burned, it releases energy which we use as heat or fuel to power equipment. Oil and gas are trapped in rock structures formed by tectonic plate movements under a formation called an anticline. An anticline is a domed or arched formation of rock that does not allow the flow of oil and gas through it. Underneath this barrier rock are fields of oil which are called reservoirs. These reservoirs are not like that of a lake of water but are actually a solid layer of porous rocks that holds the oil within the pores. There are oil fields everywhere on the earth except in the Antarctic. Methane gas, which is another type of fossil fuel, can be found in the oil fields as well as in independent pockets around the world. Methane gases are also produced in the digestive systems of animals and also produced in the swamps and are called swamp gases. To be able to remove the oil and gases from the oil fields, it requires drilling through the crust of the earth into the solid, porous rock that holds the oil and gas. In 1995, it was claimed that there were an estimated 761 billion barrels of oil left in the world and 189 billion barrels undiscovered.
Coal is another form of fossil fuel that is composed of plant and
CINDY MOYER
AXIA COLLEGE
UNIVERSITY OF PHOENIX
In today’s world, more and more people are becoming aware of the problems that are caused by the use of fossil fuel and are looking for earth-friendly and economical energy to use as a source to heat and cool their homes, drive their vehicles, use electric or whatever they do to use energy. Scientists are busy thinking up a variety of ways of producing renewable energy to replace the use of non-renewable energy.
Fuel that has taken millions of years to create from the decomposition of the plant and animal matter is known as fossil fuel. What we call oil, coal and natural gases are fossil fuels and they are made up of hydrocarbons. When hydrocarbons are burned, it releases energy which we use as heat or fuel to power equipment. Oil and gas are trapped in rock structures formed by tectonic plate movements under a formation called an anticline. An anticline is a domed or arched formation of rock that does not allow the flow of oil and gas through it. Underneath this barrier rock are fields of oil which are called reservoirs. These reservoirs are not like that of a lake of water but are actually a solid layer of porous rocks that holds the oil within the pores. There are oil fields everywhere on the earth except in the Antarctic. Methane gas, which is another type of fossil fuel, can be found in the oil fields as well as in independent pockets around the world. Methane gases are also produced in the digestive systems of animals and also produced in the swamps and are called swamp gases. To be able to remove the oil and gases from the oil fields, it requires drilling through the crust of the earth into the solid, porous rock that holds the oil and gas. In 1995, it was claimed that there were an estimated 761 billion barrels of oil left in the world and 189 billion barrels undiscovered.
Coal is another form of fossil fuel that is composed of plant and
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