Fossil fuels—coal, oil, and natural gas—were formed over millions of years. The wealth of energy stored in oil and coal jump-started the industrial revolution and accounts for much of the progress and achievement of our culture over the last few hundred years. But as supplies diminish and extraction becomes more difficult, the cost of these non-renewable resources goes up. Higher prices of fossil fuels will lead to broader adoption of renewable energy alternatives.
If we continue to use oil at the current rate, optimistic estimates suggest we will run out in forty-seven years. Our non-renewable supply of these complex hydrocarbons will be gone. Gone along with the gasoline, the diesel fuel, and the heating oil will be the lubricants, plastics, and other materials that we derive from oil. Estimates for natural gas suggest that there is at most a one hundred-seventeen year supply. Coal is abundant and could last for over four hundred years before it is all burned up, reduced to ash and greenhouse gases. Coal fired power plants are still being built to satisfy the global demand for electricity.
We are in the period of "peak oil." Costs for pumping and refining will go up and up as it becomes harder to get the oil out of the ground. Fossil fuels that were millions of years in the making are being burned up in a few hundred years, contributing directly to global warming. Replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy promises cleaner air, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, cheaper energy, and a more sustainable future.
(Photo credit: November girl, Flickr)
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