Fossil Fuels The Global Energy Problem - 1352 Words

Abstract For the past 100 years, fossil fuels have been the cornerstone of the world energy production. Oil is the most notable fossil fuel; however, coal and natural gas are also mainstream. Since global warming is the most important environmental problem the world faces and the cause is from greenhouse gases, many look to renewable energy resources to resolve the environment and energy crisis. The Global Energy Problem For many years, the world has been in an ongoing debate and struggle on what to do with our energy production and reserves. The debate has also encompassed the environmental aspect on how many forms of energy impacts the world and its environment. For over 30 years, scientists, world governments, and†¦show more content†¦(2013). The two charts above depict the world and a few selected regions consumption on oil and coal from 1965 to 2012. As shown, global oil and coal production continues to increase. Since the oil strikes in the late 1800’s to the 1900’s, the world went from coal to oil. Companies such as Standard Oil, British Petroleum, etc. found new ways to refine oil into different uses. For example, crude oil, which is oil pumped out of the ground and untouched, can become Kerosene, Propane, Gasoline, Jet Fuel, Motor Oil, etc. The petroleum industry also became one of the largest institutions of all time and today, the world relies heavily on it. For almost 150 plus years, the world has been burning fossil fuels without any regard to the impacts it would have on the planet. In the past 20 years, this issue is starting to come to the forefront. One main reason for this is the increase of greenhouse gas leads to a faster rate of global warming. Greenhouse gases are gases that trap heat in t he atmosphere which makes the planet warmer. Greenhouse gases can be carbon dioxide (CO2), Methane (CH4), Nitrous oxide (N2O) and Fluorinated gases. How much gas and for how long and how strong they go into and effect the atmosphere determines their effect on climate change. The main contributor of climate change is carbon dioxide (CO2) as this is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions and it is from