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Energy
Sources
Non-Renewable Sources:
Fossil Fuels
Nuclear Power
Hydrogen Energy
Clean Coal Technology
Renewable Sources:
Solar
Energy
Wind
Energy
Biomass
Hydroelectric Power
Tidal Energy
Geothermal Energy
Wave Energy
Energy Conservation:
Energy
Efficiency
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Fossil Fuels -
Coal, Crude Oil, and Natural Gas
Fossil fuels are fuels formed from the decomposition and compaction of
plant and animal remains of the prehistoric age. Scientists believe these
fuels date as far back as 300 million. The common fossil fuels are
These fuels are buried far deep below the ground. A lot of effort is
required first to discover where these fuels are buried (exploration) and
secondly to "mine" or "dig out" or "pump out" these resources. They have
been the World's main source of energy for centuries. They are burned in
power plants to provide energy required to power the energy plants.
However, due to concerns about the negative impact of these fuels on the
environment, there is a recent shift towards using cleaner and renewable
energy sources for the following reasons:
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Fossil fuels are DIRTY. When burnt they release pollutants
like CO2 that contribute to global warming and SO2 that contributes to
acid rain.
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Fossil fuels are NON-RENEWABLE. The fossil fuels we are
using now took over 300 million years to form (according to scientists).
When we use up what we have now, we cannot replace then within our or
the next several generations life time.
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