ᴄᴏᴍᴩᴀʀᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ᴄᴏɴᴛʀᴀꜱᴛ ꜰᴏꜱꜱɪʟ ꜰᴜᴇʟꜱ ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴜɴ ᴀꜱ ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴏᴜʀᴄᴇ ᴏꜰ ᴇɴᴇʀɢy.
Answers
Explanation:
FOSSIL FUELS AS ENERGY SOURCE
A fossil fuel is a fuel formed by natural processes, such as anaerobic decomposition of buried dead organisms, containing organic molecules originating in ancient photosynthesis that release energy in combustion. Such organisms and their resulting fossil fuels typically have an age of millions of years, and sometimes more than 650 million years. Fossil fuels contain high percentages of carbon and include petroleum, coal, and natural gas. Peat is also sometimes considered a fossil fuel. Commonly used derivatives of fossil fuels include kerosene and propane.
Fossil energy sources, including oil, coal and natural gas, are non-renewable resources that formed when prehistoric plants and animals died and were gradually buried by layers of rock. Over millions of years, different types of fossil fuels formed -- depending on what combination of organic matter was present, how long it was buried and what temperature and pressure conditions existed as time passed.
Today, fossil fuel industries drill or mine for these energy sources, burn them to produce electricity, or refine them for use as fuel for heating or transportation. Over the past 20 years, nearly three-fourths of human-caused emissions came from the burning of fossil fuels.
The Energy Department maintains emergency petroleum reserves, ensures responsible development of America’s oil and gas resources and executes natural gas regulatory responsibilities. In addition, scientists at the Energy Department’s National Labs are developing technologies to reduce carbon emissions and ensure fossil energy sources play a role in America’s clean energy future.
SUN AS ENERGY SOURCE
The sun is the closest star to Earth. It radiates light and heat, or solar energy, which makes it possible for life to exist on Earth. Plants need sunlight to grow. Animals, including humans, need plants for food and the oxygen they produce. Without heat from the sun, Earth would freeze. There would be no winds, ocean currents, or clouds to transport water.
Solar energy has existed as long as the sun—about 5 billion years. While people have not been around that long, they have been using solar energy in a variety of ways for thousands of years.
Solar energy is essential to agriculture—cultivating land, producing crops, and raising livestock. Developed about 10,000 years ago, agriculture had a key role in the rise of civilization. Solar techniques, such as crop rotation, increased harvests. Drying food using sun and wind prevented crops from spoiling. This surplus of food allowed for denser populations and structured societies.