can fossil fuels be reclaimed
Answers
yes,, but it will take a long time like millions and billions of years
Globally, we currently consume the equivalent of over 11 billion tonnes of oil from fossil fuels every year. Crude oil reserves are vanishing at a rate of more than 4 billion tonnes a year – so if we carry on as we are, our known oil deposits could run out in just over 53 years.
Answer:
Explanation:
Fossil fuels are hundreds of millions of years old, but in the last 200 years consumption has increased rapidly, leaving fossil fuel reserves depleted and climate change seriously impacted. Reserves are becoming harder to locate, and resources won’t last forever – here’s when fossil fuels could run out.Fossil fuels are biological materials containing hydrocarbon, which can be burned and used as a source of energy. They’re found in the Earth’s crust, so we have to drill into the earth to extract them.
Fossil fuels developed billions of years ago, when dead organic matter became buried at the bottom of the sea and altered as a result of anaerobic digestion. Oil deposits in the North Sea are around 150 million years old, while much of Britain’s coal began to form over 300 million years ago.
While we probably used fossil fuels as far back as the Iron Age, it wasn’t until the Industrial Revolution that wide-scale extraction started. It completely transformed the way humanity lived and worked, allowing us to power our homes, businesses and machines with coal, oil and gas.We only have a finite supply of fossil fuels. The amount we use now simply isn’t sustainable, and the problem is getting worse as the global population increases. The limited resources in the ground aren’t even the biggest problem – there are plenty of downsides to plundering the earth for coal, gas and oil:
Carbon emissions. Global carbon emissions from fossil fuels accounts for 90% of all emissions from human activity. And while UK carbon emissions are dropping, global fossil fuel emissions are increasing and global temperatures are rising.
Air pollution. The burning of fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, which pollutes the air we breathe. Air pollution in cities has been linked to an increase in respiratory diseases, like asthma, particularly in young children and the elderly, along with shortened life expectancy.
Ocean pollution. Carbon dioxide dissolves into the sea, causing acidification which affects the life cycles of marine organisms. Our oceans absorb heat created from fossil fuel emissions, causing temperatures to rise and coral reefs to bleach and die.
Habitat destruction. Vast amounts of land are decimated to provide space for drilling wells, pipelines, and processing facilities used in oil and gas drilling operations. Habitat disruption and noise from drilling are some of the biggest threats to wildlife populations across the globe.
Transporting fossil fuels. Aside from the carbon emissions caused by burning fossil fuels, there’s a huge environmental cost to transporting them. Diesel fumes from transportation add to CO2 emissions, oil spills threaten marine life, and flammable natural gas leaks have led to hundreds of human casualties in recent years.