29-12-2012, 03:19 PM
Fossil fuels
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ABSTRACT
Fossil fuels are made from the remains of ancient plants and animals, buried deep inside the Earth for millions of years. Over a long, long time, heat and pressure has turned these remains into the fossil fuels that we call coal, oil and natural gas.
Today fossil fuels are mined and burned to release the energy stored inside them.
Fossil fuels are widely used because there is a good supply and they are fairly cheap to mine and drill for.
However, fossil fuels are non-renewable, which means that one day they will be all gone. People can't make fossil fuels.
When they are burned, the carbon stored inside fossil fuels is released into the atmosphere as a gas known as carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas and is causing global warming.
Burning petrol (made from oil) in cars pollutes the air we breathe.
Power plants too burn oil and coal to make electricity and release poisonous gases into the air. These gases cause acid rain.