Sci 275 Week 9 Final Project
Depleting Fossil Fuels
Axia College of University of Phoenix As human beings, we need energy for just about all functions associated with the luxuries of our daily lives. We need energy to heat our homes, to fuel our cars, to watch television in addition to industrial and agricultural purposes. How often do we stop and think about where all this energy is coming from? Energy is formed and disbursed through an industrial process that is performed using a number of different sources. Although there are a number of different sources, there are only two types of energy, renewable and nonrenewable. Renewable energy sources are naturally replaced in time. Because of this factor, there is little concern with running out of these energy resources. On the other hand nonrenewable energy resources are quite the opposite. These resources have the potential to run out because they are not replaced naturally in short periods of time.
Fossil fuels are currently the most widely used source of nonrenewable energy in today’s society. These sources of energy are used to generate power for both commercial and personal use in a number of different ways. “In 2005, more than 3/4 of total world energy consumption was through the use of fossil fuels.” (Environmental Literacy Council, 2008) Oil, the leading energy resource depended upon to fuel everyday functions produces 43.4 % of our world’s energy. Natural Gas, the second most relied upon resource produces 15.6 % of the world’s energy followed by coal, which produces 8.3 % of the world’s energy. Unsurprisingly, North America is the number one consumer of nonrenewable energy resources, consuming approximately 25 % of the fossil fuels extracted from the earth. (Environmental Literacy Council, 2008)
The reason fossil fuels are not a renewable resource and cannot be reproduced once we run out of them is because they were formed by the decomposing remains of animals and plants many millions of years ago. Extensive periods of time in
Axia College of University of Phoenix As human beings, we need energy for just about all functions associated with the luxuries of our daily lives. We need energy to heat our homes, to fuel our cars, to watch television in addition to industrial and agricultural purposes. How often do we stop and think about where all this energy is coming from? Energy is formed and disbursed through an industrial process that is performed using a number of different sources. Although there are a number of different sources, there are only two types of energy, renewable and nonrenewable. Renewable energy sources are naturally replaced in time. Because of this factor, there is little concern with running out of these energy resources. On the other hand nonrenewable energy resources are quite the opposite. These resources have the potential to run out because they are not replaced naturally in short periods of time.
Fossil fuels are currently the most widely used source of nonrenewable energy in today’s society. These sources of energy are used to generate power for both commercial and personal use in a number of different ways. “In 2005, more than 3/4 of total world energy consumption was through the use of fossil fuels.” (Environmental Literacy Council, 2008) Oil, the leading energy resource depended upon to fuel everyday functions produces 43.4 % of our world’s energy. Natural Gas, the second most relied upon resource produces 15.6 % of the world’s energy followed by coal, which produces 8.3 % of the world’s energy. Unsurprisingly, North America is the number one consumer of nonrenewable energy resources, consuming approximately 25 % of the fossil fuels extracted from the earth. (Environmental Literacy Council, 2008)
The reason fossil fuels are not a renewable resource and cannot be reproduced once we run out of them is because they were formed by the decomposing remains of animals and plants many millions of years ago. Extensive periods of time in
References: California Energy Commission (2006) Fossil Fuels - Coal, Oil and Natural Gas. Retrieved November 23, 2010 from http://www.energyquest.ca.gov/story/chapter08.html Environmental Literacy Council (2008) Fossil Fuels. Retrieved November 23, 2010 from http://www.enviroliteracy.org/subcategory.php/21.html Holechek, Jerry (December 2001). A Growing Population, Rangelands & the Future. Retrieved November 23, 2010 from http://uvalde.tamu.edu/rangel/dec01/holechek.pdf National Wildlife Foundation (n.d.) Fueling the Fire. Retrieved November 23, 2010 from http://www.nwf.org/GlobalWarming/pdfs/FuelingTheFire.pdf United States Census Bureau (2008) International Data Base. Retrieved November 23, 2010 from http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/idb/worldpop.html United States Department of Energy (n.d.) Fossil Fuels. Retrieved November 23, 2010 from http://www.doe.gov/energysources/fossilfuels.htm This paper has been subnitted so dont use it as your own