Question

Fossil Fuels: The Depletion of Our World’s Dependency

Submitted by falconium on Wed, 2011-10-05 18:56
By Ling Jing
Fossil fuels are energy sources formed from ancient decomposed animals and plants. Coal, oil, and natural gas, the three types of fossil fuels, are each composed of hydrocarbons (compounds containing only carbon and hydrogen). The formation of fossil fuels happens in the course of hundreds of millions of years and requires intense conditions of heat and pressure; thus, it is a non-renewable resource.

Gasoline is a mixture of the hydrocarbons that compose fossil fuels, including butane and ten-carbon hydrocarbons. Properties of gasoline make it ideal for use in cars, allowing for combustion efficiency, rapid acceleration, and decreased stalling. Gasoline, however, is not the only energy source derived from fossil fuels; electricity, too, is generated through coal combustion. In fact, approximately 1.9 billion tons of coal are burned in the world every year for electricity.
Given the swift methods of transportation, increased need for electricity, and development of advanced technologies, it is apparent that fossil fuels, which currently supply 85% of our energy needs, are crucial to the survival of our modern world. However, energy use is commensurate with rapid modernization and urbanization, and our fossil fuel supplies are being depleted at an alarming rate.

The depletion of fossil fuels has not only sparked a global search for alternative energy sources, but it also has implications on international relations as well. During the Baghdad Conference in 1960, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Venezuela, and Saudi Arabia founded the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), and were later joined by Qatar, Indonesia, Libya, Algeria, Nigeria, United Arab Emirates, Angola, Ecuador, and Gabon. This twelve-country cartel designs policies regarding oil production and exportation. It is also responsible for setting oil prices.

As the reservoirs of fossil fuels diminish and the energy crisis grows more severe, tensions between the countries that import fossil fuels and those who process and export them have escalated; often these tensions can lead to global wars. For instance, if the United States, a major consumer of oil imported from Saudi Arabia, suddenly switched from fossil fuels use to a form of alternative energy, Saudi Arabia would likely experience an economic crisis. Feelings of hostility may develop toward the U.S. and war may erupt. Also, the United States is on good terms with the Soviet Union and many countries in the Middle East solely due to their oil reserves. These relations may turn rocky when fossil fuels are used up.

International relations are not the only victims of fossil fuel use; the environment has also suffered deeply. Combustion of fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas into the atmosphere. As much of the planet knows by now, this results in global warming and will result in global disaster if a solution is not found. Though this frightening reality may be several years into the future, the burning of fossil fuels also has immediate implications on the environment. Burning the fuels releases byproducts that can enter the lungs and bloodstream, resulting in asthma and other respiratory problems. Oil spills are detrimental to ecosystems and can continue to affect populations years after the spill has been cleaned up, as illustrated by the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989 that severely impacted the populations of many species of marine and terrestrial mammals, birds, and fish.

With possibly only 17 years left of fossil fuel usage in the worst case scenario, it grows ever urgent to find a solution to the energy crises, for the sake of the modern world as we know it and for that of our planet's survival. Imagine a world with no cars, no planes, no electricity, and an uninhabitable environment—this is the world that will become reality if we do not strive to find a sustainable, effective, environmentally-friendly form of energy as replacement for fossil fuels. Fossil fuels have contributed to the development of modern society; it is now up to us and our increased scientific knowledge to maintain it.

Do you agree with the author’s opinion about fossil fuels? Your answer should be 1 to 2 sentences.

pls help

Answer 1

Answer:

wahh bhai itna long to answer bhi nhi hoga then how ur question is that much long.