The slow death of fossil fuels

Due mostly to the combustion of huge amounts of fossil fuels, the world is in a precarious situation. While the advent of renewable energy is here, people continue to use toxic fuels to power our activities. Is it too late? Humanity no longer has many responsible options for the generation of power. Experts believe we only have about fifty years of fossil fuels remain ing and without a sensible energy policy, the world is doomed to gradually worse climate-related weather events. Just this month, Hawaii experienced their first hurricane in more than a 25 years. Japan, a nation in the northern hemisphere, charted record high temperatures and many deaths. But that’s just two dramatic examples. The time has come for the world to get serious about renewable energy. There is no longer any sensible reason to continue to drill in environmentally vulnerable areas. Solar panels are now less expensive than ever and fresh solar technologies promise cheaper and more efficient power for the future. Fossil fuels have been a major component of man’s “progress” during the past century. Environmental destruction caused by these fuels make them a very poor investment for humanity. Fortunately, the world is gradually waking up to the viability of solar energy.

What are fossil fuels?

Fossil fuels are raw materials that have been formed from the fossilized remains of prehistoric plants and animals.

Coal

Coal is a hard, black colored rock-like substance made up of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen and a differing amount of sulfur. Coal contributes to around 35% of the total energy produced in the world. However, coal mining is very hazardous to coal mine laborers and to the public in general. The myth of “clean coal” is being promoted by President Donald Trump in spite of overwhelming scientific evidence that "clean coal" is another false characterization used by the fossil fuel industry.

Oil

Oil was formed from the remains of sea animals that died millions of years ago. Oil is made up of hydrogen and carbon atoms. Oil contributes to around a quarter of the total energy produced in the world. Oil contributes enormously to pollution worldwide and is largely responsible for the horrendous air quality seen in the urban areas of India, China and the urban areas in America, Europe and elsewhere.

Natural gas

Natural gas was formed from the remains of sea animals that died many years ago; the gas formed was trapped in the rocks undersea. Natural gas contributes to about 21% of the total energy produced in the world. From these statistics, it is clear that most of the present day energy demand is met by consuming fossil fuels. In fact, nearly 86% of the global demand is met by fossil fuels; another eight percent is met by nuclear energy and the remaining six percent is produced by renewable sources of energy.

The deadly disadvantages of fossil fuels

There are many obvious disadvantages associated with the usage of fossil fuels. A brief summary: When fossil fuels are ignited in excess amounts they cause the emission of greenhouse gas (CO2). Greenhouse gases make the earth trap more heat and consequently increase the earth's temperature. This effect is called the Greenhouse Effect. With ocean drilling for oil, there are risks of oil spills which could adversely affect the aquatic life in the ocean. There have been several occasions of spills in recent history and oil companies are extremely lax in dealing with environmental concerns. Fossil fuels also cause pollution which not only affects humans but the aquatic life as well.

Renewable resources

These energy resources are naturally replenished and can be renewed over and over. Examples include geothermal energy, hydropower, solar energy, wind energy, and tidal energy. Of these, solar is the most ready to serve humanity now.

There has never been a better time to install a solar energy system!

Solar power has more benefits now that prices have become reasonable. For more information, please visit our solar blog to find out more about the benefits of going solar.

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