Fossil fuels

Fossil fuels are energy-rich substances formed from the decomposed remains of ancient organisms, buried and transformed by heat and pressure over millions of years. They represent captured temporal stores of solar energy from Earth's distant past, now extracted and burned to power modern civilization.

The three primary types are Coal, Petroleum, and Natural gas. Coal forms from ancient plant matter in swamps; petroleum and natural gas from marine organisms. These elemental combinations—primarily Carbon and Hydrogen—release energy through combustion, making them economically dominant but environmentally costly.

Burning fossil fuels generates Greenhouse gas emissions, contributing to Climate change. The composition of atmospheric Ozone and other pollutants shifts as a result. Yet fossil fuels remain deeply embedded in modern infrastructure, from transportation to electricity generation to manufacturing.

The history of industrial civilization is largely the history of fossil fuel extraction and use. Today's energy transition toward renewables—Solar energy, Wind power, Geothermal energy—represents a fundamental shift in how humanity captures and uses energy, one still unfolding.

Related

Energy, Carbon cycle, Industrial Revolution, Renewable energy, Combustion, Greenhouse gas emissions