Fossil fuels

Fossil fuels are made from the remains of ancient plants and animals, buried deep inside the Earth for millions of years. Over a long, long time, heat and pressure has turned these remains into the fossil fuels that we call coal, oil and natural gas.

Today fossil fuels are mined and burned to release the energy stored inside them.
Fossil fuels are widely used because there is a good supply and they are fairly cheap to mine and drill for.

However, fossil fuels are non-renewable, which means that one day they will be all gone. People can't make fossil fuels.

Some uses of fossil fuels
Coal and gas are burned to make the electricity that we use in our homes for cooking and for heating and cooling..
Oil is changed into petrol for cars and trucks, and into fuel for aeroplanes and ships.
Plastics are made from fossil fuels.

Oil and natural gas is found under the ground and under the sea. From oil rigs like this, workers drill for the oil and gas.

What's wrong with fossil fuels?
When they are burned, the carbon stored inside fossil fuels is released into the atmosphere as a gas known as carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas and is causing global warming. You can read the kidcyber page about global warming here

Burning petrol (made from oil) in cars pollutes the air we breathe.
The kidcyber page about air pollution is here

Power plants too burn oil and coal to make electricity and release poisonous gases into the air. These gases cause acid rain. You can read the kidcyber page about acid rain here

Renewable energy is the alternative to using fossil fuels. The kidcyber page about renewable energy is here

If you use any part of this, acknowledge it in your bibliography like this:
Thomas, Ron. & Sydenham, Shirley. Fossil fuels [Online] www.kidcyber.com.au (2009)

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