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Pros & Cons of Fossil Fuels As an Energy Source

To feed the system that enables mankind to live in a modernized world, we need a tremendous amount of energy---whether to power our homes, fuel our different modes of transportation, or fire up industrial machines that have become crucial to our existence. Man has tapped into several sources of energy, such as solar power, wind power, nuclear energy, hydropower, hydrogen energy and biofuels. However, fossil fuels continue to be the most dominant source of energy around the world. The use of fossil fuels, which includes petroleum, natural gas, as well as coal, generates much debate with regards to its pros and cons.

  1. Primary Energy Source

    • Petroleum, natural gas and coal are currently the primary sources of energy in the United States, providing more than 80 percent of the energy consumed by Americans. These are generated from the carbon remains of plants and animals buried for more than 200 million years, and then extracted through wells, rigs or mines. The refined products from these fuels are used to fuel cars, provide electricity, cook food, power machines and many other uses. Alternative energy sources like solar, wind and hydrogen are also plentiful, though efficient methods of generating and distributing these types of energy have still not been established. Until such methods are developed, no alternative energy source can viably replace fossil fuels.

    Lower Cost

    • Fossil fuels are more affordable primarily because they are cheaper to generate. They are easy to transport and distribute; different industries already have existing technologies in place that correspond to fossil fuels. In contrast, alternative energy processing is expensive, and government subsidies are often necessary to support alternative energy development. Solar and wind power, two of the most common alternative energy sources, are also intermittent and require extensive storage systems to be able to supply a large percentage of the country's demand. On top of that, practical distribution methods of alternative energy need to be designed to drive its costs down.

    Finite Resource

    • Fossil fuels take million of years to form and all the while millions of barrels of oil every day are consumed around the world. The estimated time when oil will have reached its peak production vary from diverse studies and different geologists, but the conclusion is the same: fossil fuels are finite and petroleum supply will be scarce in the future.

    Environmental Effect

    • Fossil fuels are considered major contributors to environmental pollution and global warming. Burning fossil fuels produces greenhouse emissions that are trapped in the atmosphere, causing a gradual increase in global temperatures. The extraction and processing of fossil fuels also produces air, water and land pollutants. Hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and sulfur oxides are some of the air pollutants formed. As a result of coal mining, the mining land area becomes stripped of trees and plants, replaced with waste materials and by-products. Oil spills create significant damage to marine life, pose health hazards and economic problems to nearby residents and require extensive cleaning methods.

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