Alternate Fuels
Abshire 1
Alternative Fuels
"Hydrogen cars... What's wrong with gasoline?" This is a question that many people have been asking themselves over the last decade. In the past gasoline, or an even broader subject, fossil fuels have been mankind's primary source of energy. Many people are beginning to think this may not be true for very much longer. The world is starting to revolutionize and move from the past to the future. Fossil fuels are a thing of the past because in today's time with an: infinitely growing population, an endless demand for energy, and a rapidly decreasing supply of fossil fuels, there must be an alternative to sustain our needs.
In order to understand fossil fuels and the need for an alternative, one must first know what fossil fuels are and where they came from. There are three major forms of fossil fuels: coal, oil and natural gas ("Fossil Fuels" par1). These were all created many millions of years ago during the Carboniferous period (360-286 million years ago) ("Energy Story" par 1). During this time period much the land was covered with swamps that contained ferns and other large leafy plants. As these trees and plants died, they sank to the bottom of the swamps and formed a spongy material called peat. Over time sediments were deposited on top of these layers of peat. As the layers of sediment increased so did the weight compressing the peat. Eventually all of the water was squeezed out and coal, oil, and natural gas remained ("Energy Story" par 2).
Since the first beginnings of man, humans have been adapting to their environments and have been using energy to improve their conditions. The first example of humans adapting was fire. Fire was the very first form of energy and it drastically improved the lives of many humans. It has provided a sense of security, a way to cook food, and a source of heat in cold
Abshire 2
environments. From the discovery of fire to the present day, there...
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