Depletion of Non Renewable Resources of Energy free essay sample

Eventually natural resources will become too costly to harvest and humanity will need to find other sources of energy. At present, the main energy source used by humans are non-renewable fossil fuels, as a result of continual use since the first  internal combustion engine  in the 17th century, the fuel is still in high demand with conventional  infrastructure  fitted with the combustion engine. Non-renewable resources of energy Coal Coal  is  a  fossil  fuel. That means it comes from the remains of ancient life buried deep in Earth’s crust. The coal we use today started out as plants that grew in swamps millions of years ago. When the plants died, they settled to the swamp bottom. Over time, layers of mud and rock formed. They compressed and hardened the plant material. Heat and pressure caused chemical changes. Gradually, the once-living matter became coal. Coal,  a  combustible  organic rock composed primarily of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. Coal is burned to produce energy and is used to manufacture steel. It is also an important source of chemicals used to make medicine, fertilizers, pesticides, and other products. Coal comes from ancient plants buried over millions of years in Earth’s crust, its outermost layer. Coal, petroleum, natural gas, and oil shale are all known as fossil fuels because they come from the remains of ancient life buried deep in the crust. Petroleum Petroleum,  or  crude  oil,  naturally occurring oily, bituminous liquid composed of various organic chemicals. It is found in large quantities below the surface of Earth and is used as a fuel and as a raw material in the chemical industry. Modern industrial societies use it primarily to achieve a degree of mobility—on land, at sea, and in the air—that was barely imaginable less than 100 years ago. In addition, petroleum and its derivatives are used in the manufacture of medicines and fertilizers, foodstuffs, plastics, building materials, paints, and cloth and to generate electricity. Crude oil is a mixture of substances called hydrocarbons. They’re called hydrocarbons because they are made up of the elements hydrogen and carbon. Hydrocarbons give off a lot of energy when they burn. That’s why they make good fuels. They also can be combined with other elements in many ways to make different products. Crude  oil  forms  under Earth’s surface. It forms from the remains of sea animals and plants. When these living things die, they sink to the sea bottom. Over millions of years, they form a thick layer. The layer can get buried under sand and rock. Pressure and high temperatures inside the planet change it into oil and natural gas. Natural gas Natural Gas is  flammable  gaseous  mixture consisting mostly of hydrocarbons. Along with coal and petroleum, natural gas is a fossil fuel. Natural gas may contain as much as 85 percent methane (CH4) and about 10 percent ethane (C2H6), and also contains smaller amounts of propane (C3H8), butane (C4H10), pentane (C5H12), and other alkanes. Natural gas, which is usually found together with petroleum deposits in Earth’s crust, is extracted and refined into fuels that provide approximately 25 percent of the world energy supply. Natural gas is created by two mechanisms: biogenic and thermogenic. Biogenic gas is created by  methanogenic  organisms in  marshes,  bogs,  landfills, and shallow sediments. Deeper in the earth, at greater temperature and pressure, thermogenic gas is created from buried organic material. Depletion of non renewable resources of energy Fossil Fuels form over millions of years when animals and plants die and decay. There are three forms of fossil fuels solid called coal, liquid called petroleum or oil, and gas called natural gas. Use of fossil fuels outnumbers the production and extraction of it which is used to power cars and factories. 90% of the U. S. s energy comes from oil. The solution is to use other sources of energy, but we already are too dependent on fossil fuel to back away from its usage. Fossil Fuels are the biggest cause of pollution in the world, producing soot and other harmful gases. It takes a million years to produce the amount of fossil fuels the people of earth use in a single year Energy can be drawn from the sun, water, and wind to produce a clean form of energy. Coal is a very clean source of energy. Energy also comes from biomass, electrical storage, and nuclear energy. Coal is a very good source of energy, but when it is burned it produces much more pollutants than any   other fossil fuel. Coal-Coal depletion  is the inescapable result of extracting and consuming  coal  since it is a nonrenewable natural resource. The number of years of coal left is estimated by the ratio of proven coal reserves to the current consumption rate. Assuming the current rate of consumption and that there are still an estimated 909 billion tones of proven  coal reserves worldwide, there is enough coal to last at least 155 years (assuming the rate of consumption remains the same) . Peak coal  is the point in time at which the maximum global coal production rate is reached, after which, according to the theory, the rate of production will enter to a terminal decline. Coal  is a  fossil fuel  formed from plant matter over the course of millions of years. It is a finite resource and thus considered to be a  non-renewable energy  source. Petroleum- Petroleum depletion  occurs in the second half of the  production curve  of an  oil well,  oil field, or the average of total world  oil  production. The  Hubbert peak theory  makes predictions of production rates based on prior discovery rates and anticipated production rates. Hubbert curves  predict that the production curves of non-renewing resources approximate a  bell curve. Thus, when the  peak of production  is passed, production rates enter an  exponential decline. The worlds oil supply is fixed because petroleum is  naturally formed  far too slowly to be replaced at the rate at which it is being extracted. Over many millions of years,  plankton,  bacteria, and other plant and animal matter become buried in sediments on the ocean floor. When conditions are right – a lack of oxygen for decomposition, and sufficient depth and temperature of burial – these organic remains are converted into petroleum compounds, while the sediment accompanying them is converted into sandstone, siltstone, and other porous sedimentary rock. When capped by mpermeable rocks such as shale, salt, or igneous intrusions, they form the petroleum reservoirs which are exploited today. Natural gas-Natural Gas depletion  is the inescapable result of extracting and consuming  natural gas  since it is a nonrenewable natural resource. The number of years of natural gas left is estimated by the ratio of proven natural gas reserves to the current consumpt ion rate. According to the Energy Information Agency,  the world in 2005 had about 60 years of natural gas left. However, the relevance of worldwide figures is questioned since unlike oil relatively little gas is shipped across the oceans. If one compares proven North American reserves versus North American consumption, one gets only 11 years. Conservation Energy conservation  refers to efforts made to reduce energy consumption. Energy conservation can be achieved through increased  efficient energy use, in conjunction with decreased  energy consumption  and/or reduced consumption from conventional energy sources. An energy conservation act was passed on 2001. Energy conservation can result in increased  financial capital,  environmental  quality,  national security,  personal security, and  human comfort. Individuals and organizations that are direct  consumers  of energy choose to conserve energy to reduce energy costs and promote  economic security. Industrial and commercial users can increase energy use efficiency to maximize  profit. Conclusion Non renewable sources of energy are getting depleted day by day. We must do something to conserve the non renewable sources. Natural resources such as coal, petroleum and natural gas  take thousands of years to form naturally and cannot be replaced as fast as they are being consumed. We must use other sources such as wind, water, sun etc. These resources must be conserved.