What are some positive things about fossil fuel?
405860
Actually high quantity isnt true.  There is less and less every year, its a finite resource, once its gone, its gone.\n\nPositive things are that its very stable, safe fuel relitive compared to other things such as natural gas, there is a fire risk but not as great a risk of explosion.\n\nIt can be used for multiple things, from unleaded gas, to deisel fuel, to petrolium jelly, to motor oil.
50474
Petroleum is a vital part of our modern society. It powers our cars and trucks, building machinery, factories that make our clothes and food, it helps us maintain our standard of living. It can be negative when wars are fought for control of this nescessity or when overusage contributes to global warming or other environmental hazzards
1144389
Energy, Transportation, Petrochemical and Security.\n\nfor obvious reasons
118282
Fossil energy is provided by things like coal, natural gas and oil. It is not easy to tell which was used first as a fuel, oil or coal. There have been natural seeps of oil around for a long time that could have been burned in lamps. Oil was certainly well known in the ancient world. For example, pitch was used by the ancient Egyptians to seal the pyramids and to coat their mummies. Boats along the Euphrates in some of the earliest human recorded settlements were sealed with pitch.\n\nOil had become so important as a fuel source in China as much as 1700 years ago that it oil wells were being dug to extract it. We have evidence of oil wells up to 800 feet deep were being drilled in China in 347 CE. \n\nAnother contender for oldest fossil fuel usage is coal. It was used as ornamentation in both China and the Roman empire, but was probably first used as fuel in Britain during the Roman period. Peat, a form of coal, was not used as fuel apparently until much later when wood supplies had been exhausted in Europe.
401394
lets start with advantages.......\n   for power generation\n   alternate to non-renewable energy sources\n   \ndisadvantages....\n  expensive\n  harmful to environment(radiation)\n  risky\n\nenergy is produced in nuclear reactor by fission mechanism......
53672
This is a very complex question.  \n\nThe crude oil reserves in the world are a semi-finite resource.  It takes many millions of years to create the oil that is in the earth. So it is possible to run out.\n\nCurrently there are no plans in place by any nation that could compenate for the depletion of this valuable natural resource.\n\nSome alternatives are being developed. Solar - greatly available but unfortunatly at this time the efficiency of the solar cells is not up to the task of replacing oil.\n\nWind energy - another good option but the size of a wind farm to generate suffient amounts of energy is restrictive. There is not enough land available.\n\nThermal currents on the ocean - Another way to harness solar energy but again VERY inefficient.\n\nNuclear Fission - Already in use on a large scale.  drawbacks are the waste that it produces. EXTREMELY Dangerous radiation that lasts for thousands of years.\n\nNuclear Fussion - This is the power that drives the sun. Couple different versions are being developed but at this time there are not any viable solutions. Possible in the future but currently take a lot of energy to create this engery.\n\nBio Fuels - a great alternative that is already widely in use. again the main drawback here is the amount of land that would be needed to supply the amount of fuel that we use.  We do not have enough at the current time.  We would need almost all of our current farm land to supply the energy need and not have any available for food needs.\n\nFuel Call technology - A very good source of fuel and very clean as well. however the main type of fuel cell is currently the Hydrogen Fuel cell. This is relatively expensive to make and uses some elements that could be also be depleted in the future. also Raw hydrogen is expensive to make. Even though it is thought to be the most abundant element in the universe, most of it is bound up in other compounds. (ie. water, other fuels)\n\nCoal - another very abundant fuel source. Drawback - burns with more polution.\n\nSo overall, the world would definitly change if/when we run out of crude oil.  Things will become more expensive. Polution could get worse unless other fuels can be found that are more enviormentally friendly.  \n\nNo one knows for sure if or when it will run out but there are options. Just be prepared for many different products to come to market that will replace the ones that contain crude oil and its byproducts.
507645
Environmental impact of burning fossil fuels.
158746
Fossil fuel power plants can emit many harmful pollutants, ranging from Nitrogen Oxides and particulates to heavy metals & mercury.\n\nThe radiation from the sun's nuclear fusion is what gives us solar energy, but it can also cause skin cancer.\n\nUse of solar energy generally requires using materials that have caused pollution as a byprodouct of their manufacture.
197817
To answer your primary question, it just needs to be less expensive than fossil fuels...oil in particular.\n\n1.  Very few "direct" renewable sources are available non-stop.  A few would be tidal power, geothermal power and hydroelectric power.  There are many "indirect" sources, such as biofuels (ethanol, biodiesel, methane) which are the process of extracting energy from materials.\n\n2. Nothing is really practical (at this point) to compete.  Oil is still too cheap.\n\n3. Storage either in liquid fuel form or conversion to electricity offers the two easiest ways to move large amounts of energy.\n\n4. There's many viable technologies available today, but they are under continuous refinement to make them better, more efficient, less costy, and ultimately, more competitive\n\n5. This one is always fun.  Wind and hydroelectric don't pollute, but one is blamed for killing migratory birds and the other is hated for destroying habitats surrounding rivers.  Both offer the most promise as the next best source of energy compared to fossil fuels.\n\n6. Well, this depends on whether the consumer is in an energy rich or energy poor area.  If you live in an area where there's ample sun, good wind, and/or rivers you can dam up, then you're living close to where you can produce it.  If you can't produce enough energy from the sources immediately available to you, then you will either need to conserve more or import it.\n\n7. Politicians are likely only going to back solutions that prove to be overwhelmingly beneficial to their constituents.  You will get corn belt pols that back ethanol for the obvious positive economic impact that it will have on their areas.   Likewise, wind in areas that it could prove beneficial.\n\nThere is no one magic bullet for every energy need, that needs to be understood.  Some sources will win over others, based on the application and its availability.  But until oil gets more expensive (like over $100 per barrel) then most alternative sources just simply can't economically compete with today's renewable harnessing technology.
881341
energy become stored in a fossil fuel because it became petrified in the fossil.\nfossil fuels contain chemical energy.
237029
Several.\n\nGeo-thermal is one of the best.  Basically, this is power derived from the heat of the earth.  Unfortunately, there are few places where this can be used.  Iceland, is a prime location for geothermal energy and they use it most effectively.\n\nWind Power:  quickly gaining in popularity, these are windmill powered turbines.\n\nSolar Power:  The sun is an excellent source of power.  Unfortunately, solar cells have been typically expensive to produce.  \n\nFuel Cells.  President Bush's pet project is to store hydrogen and use that as fuel.  Unfortunately there are some problems not mentioned by the president.  Hydrogen is the simplest element (smallest atom).  This makes it extremely easy to escape whatever container we put it in.  If you fill your cars fuel cell and let it sit for a couple of weeks, you will have an empty cell.  You need a lot of hydrogen to provide power.   You might need a bigger fuel cell than what is commonly suggested.  You might need a hydrogen tank the size of a car in order to go the distance usually provided in a sterotypical gas tank.  Benefits:  hydrogen is common and burns clean.\n\nNuclear power.  The big boogieman power source.  The sad truth is, we will have to expand nuclear power to keep up with demand if we reduce our fossil fuel consumption.  It's a necessary evil.\n\nTidal power:  Using wave action to provide power along coastal regions.  There are several of these types of power plants.\n\nHydroelectric:  using falling water from waterfalls, dams for fast moving rivers to power turbines.  One  of the best loved methods of producing "clean" power.  Drawbacks include altering the environmet and seriously affecting fish spawning.  Salmon populations have dropped enormously.
548851
Some pros to this energy source are: 1) Vast new source of energy 2) Fuels (mostly hydrogen) are plentiful 3) Inherently safe since a malfunction results in a rapid shutdown 4) No atmospheric pollution leading to acid rain or "greenhouse" effect 5) Radioactivity of the reactor structure, caused by neutrons, decays rapidly and can be minimized by careful selection of low-activation materials. There is basically only one con to these energy sources though. Scientists have not figured out a way to make it efficiently. At this point they have sustained a reaction at the break-even point, which essentially means they used as much energy as they created to make the reaction take place.
434185
The original way was to have animals live with us - body heat.  Solar and water power also work.  Lighting many many candles home made from animal fats was also used in the past.  There is also the ever popular fireplace and franklin stove burning wood (not a fossil fuel) but not coal (which is a fossil fuel).  If you are lucky to live near a hot spring - that also can be used.
768113
Uranium is an element and does not have any pros and cons.\n\nHowever, the USE of uranium as a power supply, which is what I think you mean, has benefits and problems.\n\nBenefits -\nCheap, cleaner than fossil fuels, long-lasting\nProblems - \nRadioactive forever, highly toxic/poisonous, must refine it to use it, where do you dispose of it?, "not in my back yard" syndrome for location of nuclear plants
1183222
These have become necessary aspects of our modern lives, to access the resources necessary to fulfill the needs of modern civilization.  We are now capable, though, in producing synthetics to take the place of many aspects of mining and logging, and we are also capable of much cleaner, environmentally friendly access to resources, such as re-planting, minimally invasive mining, etc.  Good stewardship of resources is essential for continued growth and sustainable resources for our future.
662420
(m)\n\nCOAL\nCoal is a fossil fuel--a sedimentary organic rock that contains more than 50 percent carbonaceous material by weight and is composed largely of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and sulfur, with small amounts of other materials ranging from aluminum to zirconium. Its beginning was in the form of ancient plants that grew in swamps millions of years ago. Geological processes working over vast spans of time compressed and altered the plant remains, increasing the percentage of carbon present and thereby producing various ranks of coal.\n\nCoal Ranking\nThe four recognized ranks of coal in the U.S. classification scheme are: anthracite, bituminous coal, sub-bituminous coal, and lignite. In the United States coal rank is classified according to its heating value, its fixed carbon and volatile matter content and, to some extent, its caking characteristics during combustion.\n\nAnthracite - Used primarily for residential and commercial space heating, anthracite is the highest rank of coal. Its hard, brittle, lustrous black texture contains a high percentage of fixed carbon and low percentage of volatile matter. It is often called "hard coal." Freshly-mined anthracite usually contains less than 15 percent moisture content. Its typical heat content is 15 million Btu per short ton or less.\n\nBituminous - Dense coal of black or dark brown color and usually has well-defined bands of contrasting bright and dull material. It is used primarily to generate steam electric power. Substantial quantities are used for power and heat applications in manufacturing as well as to make coke. In active U.S. mining regions, bituminous coal is the most abundant coal. It has a a moisture content of less than 20 percent and a heat content range between 21 to 30 million Btu per ton in a moist, mineral-matter-free basis. Of the four ranks, bituminous coal accounts for over half (51 percent) of the demonstrated reserve base. Bituminous coal is concentrated primarily east of the Mississippi River, with the greatest amounts in Illinois, Kentucky, and West Virginia.\n\nSub-bituminous - This coal can be dull, dark brown to black in color and soft and crumbly as one quality, to bright, jet black, hard and strong. Used primarily as fuel for steam-electric power generation, subbituminous coal has properties ranging from the properties of lignite or bituminous coal. The heat content of sub-bituminous coal consumed in the U.S. ranges from 17 to 18 million Btu per ton on a moist, mineral-matter-free basis. All sub-bituminous coal (38 percent of the demonstrated reserve base) is west of the Mississippi, with most of it in Montana and Wyoming.\n\nLignite - This coal's brownish-black color has a high moisture content and is the lowest rank coal. It is often called "brown coal" and is used almost entirely as fuel for steam-electric power generation. It accounts for slightly less than 10 percent of the demonstrated reserve base and is found mostly in Montana, Texas, and North Dakota.
1176
There is a great PDF file that is listed below from the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) that may be useful to you.  It explains that little things may have a huge impact on global warming if they are widely accepted.  Recycling, fuel-smart cars, solar power, planting trees are all ways of improving the environment and reducing the impact of global warming.