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Fossil fuels: Difference between revisions
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(Created page with "Fossil fuels include coal, oil, and natural gas. They occur naturally in the Earth, and can be burned for energy. They currently provide over 80% of the world's energy, but at a '''heavy environmental cost:''' pollution and climate change. Over 75% of all greenhouse gas emissions are due to burning fossil fuels. ==How much is there== Globally, per person, there is about 31 tonnes of oil (recoverable) somewhere in the Earth. {{ecalc|oil.re...") |
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Fossil fuels include coal, oil, and natural gas. They occur naturally in the Earth, and can be burned for [[energy]]. They currently provide over 80% of the world's [[energy]], but at a | Fossil fuels include coal, oil, and natural gas. They occur naturally in the Earth, and can be burned for [[energy]]. They currently provide over 80% of the world's [[energy]], but at a heavy environmental cost. | ||
[[Category:Energy sources]] | |||
{{considerations}} | |||
'''Terminology''' | |||
* Natural gas is sometimes referred to as just ''gas''. Not to be confused with gasoline. | |||
* Crude oil is also known as ''petroleum'', and it can be [[oil refining|refined]] into ''oil products'' such as gasoline and diesel. | |||
==Usage as an energy source== | |||
===Climate change=== | |||
{{basically|Major problem|bad}} | |||
[[File:fossil-fuels-ghg-by-energy.png|thumb|For the same amount of [[energy]], coal emits more carbon than oil, and oil emits more carbon than natural gas.]] | |||
[[File:Emissions-by-sector-–-pie-charts.png|thumb|left|73% of all [[greenhouse gas]] emissions are due to burning fossil fuels.]] | |||
'''Burning fossil fuels is the main cause of [[climate change]], due to the CO<sub>2</sub> it releases into the atmosphere.'''<br /> | |||
<small>And it's unlikely that [[carbon capture and storage]] would ever be able to store that much CO<sub>2</sub> in the ground.</small> | |||
<div style="clear:both"></div> | |||
===Other pollution=== | |||
{{basically|Sometimes manageable}} | |||
Burning fossil fuels releases more than just CO<sub>2</sub>. | |||
* Exhaust from cars and trucks | |||
* Exhaust from coal power plants | |||
These contain particles that are harmful to people and ecosystems.{{en}} | |||
Mitigation | |||
* Cars and trucks already have catalytic converters that eliminate some of this pollution - but not all of it. | |||
* For coal power plants, [[clean coal|newer technologies]] could avoid most of this pollution (but not the CO<sub>2</sub> that causes climate change). | |||
===Scarcity=== | |||
{{basically|Eventual problem}} | |||
Oil reserves are [[peak oil|expected to run out]] in less than a century, by most estimates. Coal and natural gas are similar. {{qn}} | |||
Fossil fuels are not considered renewable{{x|despite being fossilized organic matter that was originally dead plants & animals}}, because existing oil reserves took millions of years to form. | |||
{{dp | |||
|<nowiki>oil.reserves</nowiki> | |||
|<nowiki>1732 billion barrels oil</nowiki> | |||
|<nowiki>Global petroleum reserves</nowiki> | |||
|<nowiki>"Global proved oil reserves were 1732 billion barrels at the end of 2020 , down 2 billion barrels versus 2019. The global R/P ratio shows that oil reserves in 2020 accounted for over 50 years of current production. OPEC holds 70.2% of global reserves."</nowiki><br /><nowiki> | |||
Oil | Energy economics | Home - BP</nowiki><br /><nowiki> | |||
www.bp.com › energy-economics › statistical-review-of-world-energy › oil </nowiki> | |||
}} | |||
{{dp | |||
|<nowiki>oil.production</nowiki> | |||
|<nowiki>4439 megatonnes/year</nowiki> | |||
|<nowiki>Crude oil production, worldwide</nowiki> | |||
|<nowiki>Using data from 2019.</nowiki><br /><nowiki> | |||
</nowiki><br /><nowiki> | |||
Source: Key World Energy Statistics 2020 (IEA report)</nowiki> | |||
}} | |||
{{dp | |||
|<nowiki>world.population</nowiki> | |||
|<nowiki>8 billion</nowiki> | |||
|<nowiki>Number of people alive today, globally</nowiki> | |||
|<nowiki>https://www.unfpa.org/data/world-population-dashboard</nowiki><br /><nowiki> | |||
Last updated in 2023</nowiki> | |||
}} | |||
Globally, per person, there is about 31 tonnes of oil (recoverable) somewhere in the Earth {{p|{{calc|oil.reserves|(tonnes per capita)(world.population)}} }}. Average production is about 1.5 kg/day per person {{p|{{calc|oil.production|(kg/day per capita)(world.population)}} }}. Rich countries consume a lot more, poor countries use a lot less. | |||
==Non-energy usage== | |||
* Fossil fuels are also used in making [[plastic]], most of which is [[packaging|disposable]]. | |||
* Other uses include making thousands of different chemicals. This together adds up to only a small fraction of fossil fuel consumption, and does not contribute significantly to climate change. {{qn}} | |||
<!-- TODO: elaborate and split into subsections "plastic" and "other" --> | |||
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==Chemistry== | ==Chemistry== | ||
Fossil fuel molecules are mainly hydrocarbons. | Fossil fuel molecules are mainly hydrocarbons. | ||
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Fossil fuels can also be used to make [[hydrogen gas]]. | Fossil fuels can also be used to make [[hydrogen gas]]. | ||
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