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(Created page with "Fossil fuels include coal, oil, and natural gas. They occur naturally in the Earth, and can be burned for energy. They currently provide over 80% of the world's energy, but at a '''heavy environmental cost:''' pollution and climate change. Over 75% of all greenhouse gas emissions are due to burning fossil fuels. ==How much is there== Globally, per person, there is about 31 tonnes of oil (recoverable) somewhere in the Earth. {{ecalc|oil.re...") |
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Fossil fuels include coal, oil, and natural gas. They occur naturally in the Earth, and can be burned for [[energy]]. They currently provide over 80% of the world's [[energy]], but at a | Fossil fuels include coal, oil, and natural gas. They occur naturally in the Earth, and can be burned for [[energy]]. They currently provide over 80% of the world's [[energy]], but at a heavy environmental cost. | ||
== | [[Category:Energy sources]] | ||
{{considerations}} | |||
'''Terminology''' | |||
* Natural gas is sometimes referred to as just ''gas''. Not to be confused with gasoline. | |||
* Crude oil is also known as ''petroleum'', and it can be [[oil refining|refined]] into ''oil products'' such as gasoline and diesel. | |||
==Usage as an energy source== | |||
===Climate change=== | |||
{{basically|Major problem|bad}} | |||
Burning fossil fuels is the main cause of [[climate change]], due to the CO<sub>2</sub> it releases into the atmosphere. | |||
<!-- Over 75% of all [[climate change|greenhouse gas emissions]] are due to burning fossil fuels. --> | |||
For the same amount of energy, coal releases about twice as much CO<sub>2</sub> as natural gas, and oil is somewhere in between. | |||
<!-- TODO: add numbers, including for natural gas fugitive methane emissions in CO2eq --> | |||
===Other pollution=== | |||
{{basically|Sometimes manageable}} | |||
Burning fossil fuels releases more than just CO<sub>2</sub>. | |||
* Exhaust from cars and trucks | |||
* Exhaust from coal power plants | |||
These contain particles that are harmful to people and ecosystems.{{en}} | |||
Mitigation | |||
* Cars and trucks already have catalytic converters that eliminate some of this pollution - but not all of it. | |||
* For coal power plants, [[clean coal|newer technologies]] could avoid most of this pollution (but still not the CO<sub>2</sub> that causes climate change). | |||
===Scarcity=== | |||
{{basically|Eventual problem}} | |||
Oil reserves are [[peak oil|expected to run out]] in less than a century, by most estimates.{{qn}} Coal and natural gas are similar. | |||
Fossil fuels are not considered renewable{{x|despite being fossilized organic matter that was originally dead plants & animals}}, because existing oil reserves took millions of years to form. | |||
Globally, per person, there is about 31 tonnes of oil (recoverable) somewhere in the Earth. {{ecalc|oil.reserves|(tonnes per capita)(world.population)}}. Average production is about 1.5 kg/day per person {{ecalc|oil.production|(lbs/day per capita)(world.population)}}. Rich countries consume a lot more, poor countries use a lot less. | Globally, per person, there is about 31 tonnes of oil (recoverable) somewhere in the Earth. {{ecalc|oil.reserves|(tonnes per capita)(world.population)}}. Average production is about 1.5 kg/day per person {{ecalc|oil.production|(lbs/day per capita)(world.population)}}. Rich countries consume a lot more, poor countries use a lot less. | ||
==Non-energy usage== | |||
Fossil fuels are also used in making [[plastic]], most of which is [[packaging|disposable]]. Other uses include making thousands of different chemicals, but together they add up to only a small fraction of fossil fuel consumption. {{qn}} | |||
<!-- TODO: elaborate and split into subsections "plastic" and "other" --> | |||
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==Chemistry== | ==Chemistry== | ||
Fossil fuel molecules are mainly hydrocarbons. | Fossil fuel molecules are mainly hydrocarbons. | ||
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Fossil fuels can also be used to make [[hydrogen gas]]. | Fossil fuels can also be used to make [[hydrogen gas]]. | ||
==Origins== | ==Origins== | ||
Coal and oil are formed from organic material (mostly plants, sometimes dead animals) that got buried in the Earth millions of years ago. | Coal and oil are formed from organic material (mostly plants, sometimes dead animals) that got buried in the Earth millions of years ago. | ||
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