Fossil Fuels
We get energy from sunlight, wind, nuclear plants, and damns... However,
most of
the energy that we use comes from fossil fuels. There are three major
fossil
fuels: Coal, oil and natural gas. These are composed of carbon,
hydrogen,
nitrogen, oxygen and sulfur. Carbon is the major element in fossil
fuels. We
obtain energy from fossil fuels by burning them. Coal is the most
abundant
fossil fuel in the U.S. Yet it has a major disadvantage. It is a
strong
pollutant. When it is burned, it releases impurities like nitrogen and
sulfur,
which combine with water vapor to create "acid rain". Also, coal is a
major
contributor to the imbalance of the carbon cycle. When coal burns, it
forms
carbon dioxide. Scientists believe that carbon dioxide traps the
earth’s heat
in a process called the "greenhouse effect". However, scientists
have
developed new methods to burn coal more efficiently, filter impurities
before
they are released in the atmosphere, and cut down on the release of
carbon
dioxide. Oil is another important fossil fuel. It is found under tons
of rock,
deep in the earth’s crust. Precisely, oil is found in rocks, trapped
in little
pores. When an oil well is dug in the earth, pressure from the
reservoirs will
make the oil spurt to the top of the well. When oil is pumped
out of reservoirs,
about only ¼ of the oil available will be accessible to
the pumps. Scientists
and engineers have yet to discover a method to collect
the remaining ¾ of oil.
Often, natural gas is found with oil. In some
cases, oil companies separate the
two fossil fuels and inject the natural gas
back into the reservoir, creating
enough pressure to allow more oil to spring
to the surface. Natural gas is a
colorless, odorless gas. It is responsible
for fueling over half of the United
States’ homes’ appliances. Some
countries have discarded natural gas because
they think it is worthless.
Precisely, there isn’t enough natural gas to last
very long in the future.
For this reason, many countries do not want to invest
in this fuel. Also, as
it gets more rare, natural gas will be more expensive to
locate. However,
natural gas is seen by many as the fuel of the future. When
natural gas
burns, it leaves very little impurities and pollution. Ethanol is a
fuel that
is manufactured by distilling crops like corn and sugarcane. Ethanol
is
typically mixed with gasoline to produce a fuel known as gasohol.
However,
ethanol constitutes only 5 to 10 percent of gasohol. Scientists hope
to increase
the energy potential of ethanol, and develop engines and machines
able to run
mostly on ethanol. This would be a breakthrough in the field of
fuels. An engine
that runs on distilled grains and crops sounds like an
unimaginable invention
from a science-fiction movie. Ethanol has many
advantages: For one thing,
ethanol is renewable, and importantly, is an
inexhaustible resource. As opposed
to fossil fuels, ethanol will never run
out. Secondly, Ethanol is relatively
safe and non-toxic.