Fossil Fuels

Fossil fuels

• Fossil fuels are the product of millions of years of photosynthesis

  stored and processed under heat and pressure

• Most fuel is found in rocks from about 50-450 million years ago

Review

• Energy basics

• Estimation techniques

• Laws of thermodynamics

• Carbon, photosynthesis, and combustion

Fossil Fuels

• where do we get them

• how do we use them

• why are they useful

• how are they harmful

• fossil fuel etymology latin fodere dig fossilis dug up

Types of Fossil Fuels

• Coal

• Petroleum

• Natural Gas

Impacts of a Global Fossil Fuel Network

• Fossil fuels are being extracted, processed, and used all over the world

• Who bears the burden of the consequences?

• Who benefits from their use?

• Where are these consequences located?

Origin of Fossil Fuels

Fossil Fuel Molecules

Petroleum prices

Certain prices are indexed and recorded

Bloomberg Energy

Petroleum use

EIA

Natural gas prices currently low

Source: EIA

Pollution effects

• Carbon dioxide climate

• Particulates

• Acid rain

  Impacts of extraction methods

• exxon valdez 1989 prince william sound, alaska

• deepwater horizon explosion 2010

• sago mine 2006 disaster

  Fossil Fuel Subsidies

• exploration expensing

• unpriced externalities