Fossil Fuels

Electricity is considered a secondary source of energy because it takes other sources of energy, such as coal or solar to create electricity.

Currently, most electricity is generated through nonrenewable energy sources.

Most electricity in the U. S. A Most electricity in the U.S.A. is generated by coal burning power plants because it is the cheapest to use and produces large amounts of energy.

The three types of fossil fuels are coal, oil, and natural gas.

Fossil fuels are the most commonly used nonrenewable resources.

The energy in fossil fuels originally came from the sun.

The sun provides energy to plants and the plants use photosynthesis to help them grow.

The ultimate source of the energy in fossil fuels is from the sun The ultimate source of the energy in fossil fuels is from the sun. Photosynthetic plants and marine algae lock this energy into organic matter. When we burn plants, coal, oil, or gas, we release the sun's trapped energy.

Burning fossil fuels releases their stored energy.

Three problems with burning fossil fuels are air pollution, water pollution, and soil pollution.

Carbon dioxide is released when burning fossil fuels.

Coal is an organic rock that originally came from dead swamp grass that compacted over millions of years.

The fossil fuel coal formed from the remains of plants that lived and died around 100 to 400 million years ago, when parts of the earth were covered with huge swampy forests.

Coal is considered a nonrenewable energy source because it takes millions of years to form.

Of the fossil fuels, natural gas produces the least amount of pollution.

Natural gas is a naturally occurring hydrocarbon gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, with other hydrocarbons, carbon dioxide, nitrogen and hydrogen sulfide.

Natural gas is an energy source often used for heating, cooking, and electricity generation.

Petroleum oil is a nonrenewable fossil fuel usually found underground in reservoirs located in sandstone or limestone. This fossil fuel is made from sea plants and animals.

The energy source used more than any other in the U.S.A. is oil.

Gasoline is made from the fossil fuel oil.

Oil and gas are formed from the remains of marine plants, animals and microorganisms that lived in seas millions of years ago.

Propane is a nonrenewable fossil fuel that is a derivative of natural gas and petroleum

When present supplies of nonrenewable resources are used up, there will be no more.