The substances that act as energy sources are called fuels. Fossil fuels are basically buried organic matters that can be converted to coal, crude oil, natural gas, etc. The conversion can be done through application of heat and pressure on the crust of earth. The fuel which is available readily at low rate and generates reasonable amount of heat on burning is generally considered to be a good fuel. The calorific value of a fuel is the amount of energy 1kg of that fuel produces. An ideal fuel is the one which completely burns in air and produces large energy amounts at a moderate rate. Such properties aren’t possessed by any fuel, so obtaining ideal fuel is not easy. Burning of fossil fuels is known to be harmful. Fossil fuel burning and consequences homework answers are what a lot of students are looking for.
What are fossil fuels?
You will often hear it in radio, television and newspapers that the present supply of fossil fuels is not at all sustainable and these non-renewable sources of energy will eventually run out. Well, as a matter of fact, it is true. It is one of the consequences of fossil fuel burning. As the name would suggest, fossil fuels are formed from decayed remains of animals, plants and vegetable matter over millions of years ago.
With the pressure and heat of the Earth, these carbon-based substances were converted into combustible substances which are nowadays called coal, natural gas and petroleum. The formation of fossil fuels is often a major part of fossil fuel burning and consequences homework answers. These fuels have become a major source of energy over time. This is because they are generally considered to convenient, effective and plentiful. However, these organic deposits known as fossil fuels are non-sustainable, which is a major concern considering its heavy usage nowadays.
Fossil fuels are useful but there are consequences
There are several advantages to fossil fuels. Burning of these fuels provides the energy and heat for the homes. Also, the diesel and gasoline oils are vital for transportation. The modern world is heavily dependent on these sources of energy. For your fossil fuel burning and consequences homework answers, it is important that you know that how these carbon-based substances have made homes more comfortable and transportation a lot easier.
While it is completely true that fossil fuels have made a huge difference to the present-day world because they are the primary sources of energy driving the modern world, these fuels sources are being extracted and burnt at a much faster rate that they can be replenished naturally. This is why they are known as non-sustainable sources of energy.
The burning of fossil fuels is perhaps enough for providing the world with the short-term energy that it needs but doing so release several harmful gasses. These emissions are both polluting and toxic in nature and affect the animals, plants and the delicate eco-system of the planet. As a matter of fact, some of these harmful emissions ae responsible for climate change and global warming. So, the consequences of burning fossil fuels are too huge to be overlooked.
Some major impacts
Students who have homework or assignments on fossil fuels would definitely want to know about the significant impact that the burning of fossil fuels have. It will surely help them with their fossil fuel burning and consequences homework answers. Here are some major impacts:
- The combustion of fossil fuels emits different kinds of gases into atmosphere, which has an adverse effect on the environment. For instance, the emissions of nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxides from such combustion are harmful. They are acidic in nature and mix the atmosphere’s moisture, which results in acid raid. This acid rain damages the trees and buildings.
- Toxic metals like uranium, lead, arsenic, mercury and cadmium are released as gases on the combustion of coal. These metals may even remain in the ashes left behind after the burning. So, heavy metal pollution is another consequence of fossil fuel burning. For example, a lot of people in China burn coal in unvented stoves, which has resulted in high levels of arsenic in the drinking water and food residues. As such, a lot of people over there suffer from arsenic poisoning.
- Gasoline does not contain sulfur, so the exhaust from vehicle doesn’t contribute a lot to sulfur dioxide emissions. However, these vehicle exhausts do add nitrogen oxide to atmosphere, which does not only create acid rain but even ground-level ozone. Ozone, formed through several chemical reactions where sunlight acts as the catalyst, is known to damage plants and buildings. It is also health hazard as it impacts the lungs and eyes.
- The emitting of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere is actually the most significant consequence of fossil fuel burning. Present naturally in earth’s atmosphere, carbon dioxide serves as a greenhouse gas. This means that it has a tendency of increasing radiative forcing, thus disrupting the balance between the amount of radiation that enters the atmosphere and the amount that leaves it. Greenhouse gases can absorb infrared radiation but are invisible. These gases result in an increase of temperature. The amount of radiation leaving the earth’s atmosphere has reduced significantly over the past years. Apart from carbon dioxide, examples of other greenhouse gases include methane, nitrogen oxides and water vapor.
Once you know these major impacts of fossil fuel burning, you will have a better time dealing with your homework. Still, if you are having trouble, you can seek online assistance for your fossil fuel burning and consequences homework answers. Hiring online homework help allows you to get aided by expert tutors for completing your homework and assignments with ease.
What is the solution?
Even though fossil fuels are accepted widely and used all around the world, there still exists certain ways in which these substances can be made less polluting. For example, the use of clean coal technology mixes renewable biomass material with coal for reducing the harmful emissions. Development of hybrid vehicles that run on both LPG and gasoline is also a great solution.
For replacing the excessive dependence of people on fossil fuels, alternative fuels are being developed and discovered on an everyday basis. It remains to be seen whether fossil fuels will remain the major supply for the energy requirements of the world, or if other renewable sources of energy like wind, hydro and solar energy will surpass over time the use of petroleum, coal and natural gas. Still, it is extremely important to realize that the supply of the non-renewable fossil fuels is limited and they must be used in a wise manner.
The problem might be large, but there are a few steps you can take individually for reducing it. By reducing your own energy use and being more informed on the matter, you can help reduce the impact of fossil fuel burning. Here are a few things you can do:
- The first step must be to use less energy yourself. Turning off devices instead of leaving them on standby reduces your energy use immediately.
- You should be looking to buy your household electricity from green energy provider.
- If you wish to take a more substantial step, you can have your own solar electricity system or solar hot water.