Pros & Cons of the 3 Major Fossil Fuels

The three major fossil fuels are oil, coal and natural gas. Oil is typically refined to fuel automobiles and other vehicles, and the byproducts of its refinement appear in many types of plastics, fabrics and pharmaceuticals. Coal is a primary source of power throughout the industrialized world, and coal-fired power plants supply power grids with significant amounts of electricity for home and commercial use. Natural gas is also widely used for cooking and heating in both homes and businesses.

Scarcity

• When prices rise or supplies become low, consumers line up for gas.

  One property that all three of the major fossil fuels have in common is scarcity. These resources are classed as nonrenewable, meaning that there is only a finite supply of them available for human consumption. While it is true that organic material will break down over time to produce new deposits of coal, crude oil and natural gas, the process by which these resources are formed takes millions of years to complete. The fossil fuels mined in the 20th and 21st centuries were formed during the Carboniferous Period between 286 and 360 million years earlier, so any new supply of the basic ingredients for fossil fuel formation will not produce additional fuels within the foreseeable future. As existing supplies of these resources are used up, remaining supplies become harder and more expensive to reach and mine. This leads to an increase in the cost to consumers, who gradually become less and less able to afford the use of these fuels.

Infrastructure

• Building new power structures may cost more than maintaining existing ones.

  One advantage of fossil fuel use is the existence of an extensive energy and transportation infrastructure designed around their use. In 2011, a conventional gas-powered automobile can stop to refuel at virtually any gas station, and gas stations are abundant fixtures throughout urban neighborhoods and along highway exits. The existing infrastructure is also amenable to natural gas as a heat source. According to the United States energy information administration, 61 percent of households used natural gas for one or more heat-related tasks in 1997. These included cooking, home heating and water heating. Coal, as a means of generating electricity, also enjoys the benefits of an existing infrastructure. With roughly 600 coal power plants throughout the United States, coal generated 54 percent of the nation's electricity in the early 21st century. These pre-existing conditions lend an ease and lack of short-term expense to the continued use of coal, oil and natural gas.

Environmental Damage

• The 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion spilled millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.

  The Union of Concerned Scientists note that coal-based power production is the single largest source of air pollution in the United States, producing carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide and mercury compound emissions. Power plants which burn natural gas produce fewer emissions, but still contribute to the presence of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides and methane. Emissions from oil-burning vehicles diminish air quality, leading to poor health in populations where concentrations of polluted air exist, and contributing to acid rain and smog, which further damage the environment and affect the health of humans. Waste products from mining also damage the surrounding environment, and disasters such as coal mine collapses and explosions, as well as the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion, endanger human life and produce long-term negative environmental impacts.

Financial Costs and Reliability

• Conversion to renewable resources can be cost-prohibitive to many consumers.

  For consumers, conversion from conventional fossil fuels is expensive. When faced with the cost of installing a solar power array, for example, the average homeowner may find a significant financial benefit to retaining the existing fossil fuel-based power supply to her home instead. Coal power plants operate day and night, regardless of weather conditions, so they do not depend on sunlight or wind, which may be sporadic, to generate power. Fuels made from oil are also quickly and readily available throughout the day, whereas electric vehicles require hours to charge or may require specialized power outlets, and solar-powered vehicles are dependent on an abundance of sunlight. Because of the cost of conversion and the "always on" aspect of fossil fuels, they have significant short-term advantages over newer and more renewable sources of energy. However, as scarcity increases, causing supplies to dwindle and costs to rise, this benefit will gradually become more diminished.