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Fossil Fuel Facts and Figures

We hear a lot about "fossil fuels" in the news these days. Energy from fossil fuels are usually mentioned as the opposite of renewable, or "green" energy. Beyond that, however, the definition of fossil fuels is rather hazy. What exactly are they? How much do we use? How much do we have left? What will happen when they run out? This article will try to answer those questions.

What Are Fossil Fuels?

"Fossil fuels" refer to coal, oil, and natural gas.

They are referred to as "fuels" because all three types are burned to produce energy.

About 97% of all the world's fossil fuels is in the form of coal. Coal is burned to generate electricity. The heat from coal boils water to produce steam. This stem is used to turn a steam turbine. It is the spinning turbine that generates electricity. Although most people do not use coal for energy directly, all the electricity you use every day ultimately comes from burning coal. About 28% of all the world's energy comes from coal.

Oil is mostly burned by automobiles, but is also used in electrical generators. Oil, or petroleum, is also used extensively as a raw material in the chemical industry. Petroleum products consist of everything from plastic to hair gel. About 40% of all the world's energy comes from oil. In the entire world, we only have about 800 billion barrels of oil left.

Natural gas is also burned to generate electricity, but is also used in homes for stoves, clothes dryers, and heating furnaces. About 20% of all the world's energy comes from
Natural gas.

Only about 12% of the world's energy comes from renewable energy sources like the sun, the wind, the waves, the plants, and the earth.

But Why Are They Called "Fossil" Fuels?

Because they are. Today, we're used to thinking of fossils as bones of ancient dead animals. But what about ancient dead plants? What did they leave behind? The answer is coal, oil, and natural gas.

About 440 million years ago, the earth was covered with vegetation, mainly giant ferns. Plants living in swampy or marshy areas died, sank to the bottom, and began to rot. After a few centuries of this, they left behind a thick layer of soil composed of decaying plants. Over the next few million years, this carbon-rich soil was covered by other layers of rock. The weight of the rock compressed this soil until it was compacted into coal.

Oil is the same soil that was wasn't compressed hard enough to turn solid, and remain in a liquid state.

Natural gas was released from the rotting soil, but caught in gaps between rocks.

So, basically, it takes several million years to make new coal, oil, or natural gas. Fossil fuels are effectively a non-renewable, limited resource. When they're used up, they're gone forever.

How Long Until We Run Out of Fossil Fuels?

How long our fossil fuels last depends on how fast we use them up. If we continue to use more and more oil, the 800 billion barrels of oil that are left will last about fifteen years. If we use the remaining oil as economically as we can, it could last up to sixty years. In reality, we'll most likely use up the last of our oil somewhere between those two dates. Either way, we will almost certainly run out of oil during your lifetime.

There are about 6000 trillion cubic feet of natural gas left on our planet. That's enough to last the planet at least fifty years, although it could last longer if we use it efficiently.

The world has more coal than any other fossil fuel. At our current rate of usage, our coal reserves could last us up to 1,500 years. However, we are using more and more coal every year, as hundreds of new coal-burning electrical power plants are built every years. If the world's rate of coal consumption rises just 5% every year, we could run out of coal in as little as 90 years.

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