Name: Syed Muhammad Sibtain

Roll Nr: 08-ENV-29

Eating Fossil Fuels

Fossil Fuels. Fossil fuels are a limited resource. They are the products of what were once vegetation and other living matter that has been buried beneath the earths surface for up to 300 million years. During this time, the intense pressure and heat that it has been subjected to has enriched and concentrated its carbon elements, and turned it into various types of fossil fuels. The three main types of fossil fuels are coal, natural gas, and oil from which petroleum amongst other things is produced. All three types of fossil fuels are being used to provide the energy to provide the heat, light, and power for industrial and personal use. Mankind are depleting fossil fuel reserves at an unbelievably fast rate, through many mining and drilling operations worldwide, fossil fuels are considered to be an unsustainable resource. [1] Fossil Fuel Use Up. The global use of fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas) increased by 1.3 percent in 2002, to 8,034 million tons of oil equivalent, according to preliminary estimates based on government and industry sources.1 (See Figure 1.) This compares with a 0.3-percent rise in 2001. [2] Fossil fuel consumption was 4.7times the level in1950, and it now accounts for 77 percent of world energy use. [3] Global oil use rose by just 0.5 percent in 2002, due in part to a sluggish global economy, according to International Energy Agency (IEA) early estimates.[4] (See Figure 2.) Damages inflicted by Fossil Fuels. Environmentalists today associate burning fossil fuel with carbon dioxide emissions, which in turn are associated with climate change and global warming. Before the greenhouse effect took root in the popular imagination the main effect of burning fossil fuel that we understood was air pollution caused by burning coal and coal gas for electrical power and heat energy, and diesel and petrol in engines for transport. [5] Increasing use of fossil fuels, particularly coal and oil, has pumped such huge quantities of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere that these gases threaten to raise average temperatures and thus transform global weather patterns. Global warming, as this process is known, could have a devastating impact on low-lying areas, which are likely to be flooded as sea levels rise. Global warming may indeed transform the worlds climate. [6] Alternatives to Fossil Fuels. Right now fossil fuels are the main energy sources but this trend is changing, thanks to the scientist who discovered new ways of energy production and the best thing about these alternatives is that these are renewable. Some of these sources are listed below: [7]
1. Solar Power 2. Wind Power 3. Hydrogen alternative fuel 4. Biodiesel alternative fuel 5. Liquid coal 6. Ethanol alternative fuel

Name: Syed Muhammad Sibtain References: [1] http://www.fossilfuel.co.za/Fossil-Fuel-South-Africa.aspx , 10 September 2011 [2] Based on data from BP, op. cit. note 1.

Roll Nr: 08-ENV-29

[3] Increase since 1950 based on sources cited in note 1; share of total global energy use calculated by World watch with 2000 data from IEA, World Energy Outlook 2002 (Paris: 2002), pp. 41011. [4] Increase in global oil consumption from IEA, op.cit. note 1. [5] http://robertkyriakides.wordpress.com/2008/04/25/damage-we-suffer-from-fossil-fuel-burning-both-seen-andunseen/ , 10 September 2011 [6] http://worldhistoryforusall.sdsu.edu/eras/era9.php , 10 September 2011 [7] http://www.beyondfossilfuel.com/alternative_fuels.html , 10 September 2011