Prepare For The Future - Fossil Fuels Today

When fossil fuels first began to be used in the early 1800's, it probably seemed that they were an unending resource. Fossil fuels, these energy-producing substances, have their origin in the decay of ancient biomaterial. As animals and plants died and decayed, pressure from geological processes of the earth transformed the decay into various types of fuel, including methane, oil, and coal.

To learn more about the different types and uses for Fossil Fuels, visit the VideoJug website, where they have interviewed an expert in the field, author and Environmental Policy Advisor Terry Tamminen, on these issues.

However, back to the coal smoke-fueled 'pea soup' fogs of London where you couldn't see a foot in front of you, these obviously were an early warning of some of the consequences of burning fossil fuels, yet this warning was not significant to the people of that time. All natural resources such as clean air, clean water, and so forth, seemed to be endless. This was also the period of colonization by European countries and the hunting of various animals to extinction, such as the dodo bird. So, conservation was definitely not a part of European-centered thinking during the nineteenth century.

Therefore, because of their availability and the amount of power they provided, fossil fuels became the mainstay of industry, households, as well as transportation. Fossil fuels provide electricity to run factories, they heat our homes, they get the goods from the factory to the store, they till our soil, and they get us to work and home.

Unfortunately, fossil fuels are sources of pollution, and their by-products have accumulated in our atmosphere to the point where Arctic and Antarctic ice formations are melting at a seemingly unprecedented rate. We are becoming increasingly aware that these are finite resources and yet we are so dependent on them that it is tempting to just let the next generation deal with the problem.

Within the last forty years, we have had two fossil fuel-related energy crises - the one in the 1970's and the current one. It is likely we will continue to have these crises and that we will continue to struggle with the effect of the cost of fossil fuels on our economy. The current energy crisis has caused gas, food, and consumer goods to increase in price, which has cut people's spending back and reduced corporation profits.

There are alternatives to using fossil fuels. For example, wind power and solar power are going to be around until the Earth itself ends - and at that point none of us will be needing energy sources. We are seeing wind farms and the use of solar panels increasing - average consumers will be more and more likely to tap into these resources. Hopefully we can make a slow and relatively painless transition to forms of power that don't pollute and don't run out.