A fossil fuel is a hydrocarbon-containing material, such as coal, oil, and natural gas, formed naturally in the
Earth's crust. When the remains of dead plants and animals are buried deep underground, their decomposition
under the anaerobic, high-temperature and high-pressure conditions create fossil fuels over millions of years.
While dead aquatic creatures (such as plankton) form petroleum and natural gas, dead plants on land mostly
turn into coal and methane. These energy sources are often extracted and burned as a fuel, especially since the
start of the Industrial Revolution. Fossil fuels may be burned to provide heat for use directly (such as for cooking
or heating), to power engines (such as internal combustion engines in motor vehicles), or to generate electricity.
For nearly 3 centuries, humanity have relied on fossil fuels as our major energy source. In 2019, 84% of primary
energy consumption and 64% of all electricity in the world was from fossil fuels. However, the large-scale
burning of fossil fuels causes a number of issues. One problem is that, as mentioned before, fossil fuels need
millions of years to form, so they are likely to run out soon with our rapid consumption. That is why they are
called non-renewable energy. Another problem is their environmental impacts. Over 80% of the carbon dioxide
(CO2) generated by human activity (around 35 billion tons a year) comes from burning fossil fuels, and it is the
main source of greenhouse gas emissions causing global warming. Additionally, toxic contaminants in the air
caused by burning fossil fuels are detrimental to human health, killing millions of people each year.
It is expected that renewable energy sources, such as solar, wind, geothermal or hydroelectricity, would be the
ideal alternatives to fossil fuels. This seems obvious because, by definition, “renewable” means these energy
sources are endless. In addition, as the process of producing energy does not involve burning anything, these
energy sources are expected to be ecofriendly. And these “renewable” sources, while sounded like a modern
invention, are not an unfamiliar concept to people. Since 1882, even before the negative impacts of fossil fuels
became known to human, hydroelectricity has already been a common way of producing electricity. Moreover,
the waterwheel, a simple device harnessing the power of water, was likely invented in around 400 BCE. Wind
power was used even much earlier, with the invention of windmills dated back to 3000 BCE and sails 3500 BCE.
As ideal as they might seem, these renewable sources have several problems themselves. Firstly, while people
think that every country has renewable sources, not all of them meet the specific conditions to be able to
product energy consistently. For example, there might not be enough sunny or windy days in a year for effective
energy production, and sources like geothermal energy are only founded in a small number of countries. Even
though this is the same problem with fossil fuels because not all countries have them, fossil fuels can be
conveniently transported around the world. In contrast, you cannot send sunlight or wind power to another
country. These energy sources must be converted into electricity, which is difficult to transport over large
distances.
