Fossil fuels are made from decomposing plants and animals. These fuels are found in the Earth’s crust and contain carbon and hydrogen, which can be burn for energy. Coal, oil, and natural gas are examples of fossil fuels. Coal is a material usually found in sedimentary rock deposits where rock and dead plant and animal matter are piled up in layers. More than 50 percent of a piece of coal’s weight must be from fossilized plants. Oil is originally found as a solid material between layers of sedimentary rock, like shale. This material is heated in order to produce the thick oil that can be used to make gasoline. Natural gas is usually found in pockets above oil deposits. It can also be found in sedimentary rock layers that don’t contain oil. Natural gas is primarily made up of methane.

According to the National Academies of Sciences, 81 percent of the total energy used in the United States comes from coal, oil, and natural gas. This is the energy that is used to heat and provide electricity to homes and businesses and to run cars and factories. Unfortunately, fossil fuels are a nonrenewable resource and waiting millions of years for new coal, oil, and natural gas deposits to form is not a realistic solution. Fossil fuels are also responsible for almost three-fourths of the emissions from human activities in the last 20 years. Now, scientists and engineers have been looking for ways to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and to make burning these fuels cleaner and healthier for the environment.

Importance to preserve them

Most importantly, the reason why we should be conserving fossil fuels must not be selfish completely. The environment needs time to recover and that must be our main motive. To allow it time to heal and replenish its resources and condition.

Moreover, we burn petroleum, coal plus the natural gas. Our air fills up with dangerous pollutants. This releases very harmful gases like nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide plus a lot of other hydrocarbons. This harmful release also stops the heat of the earth from fleeing into space. Therefore, the temperature of the earth just keeps rising.

Other than that, they also create smog and cause respiratory diseases. Similarly, these gases especially carbon dioxide acidifies the oceans. It results in the death of various aquatic animals.

Thus, when we conserve fuel for a better environment, we will also slow the rate of atmospheric warming as well as ocean acidification. This will positively allow our mother earth to heal and recover from the loss. Otherwise, our earth will reach its tipping points fast where it will be in a state of beyond repair. Worst case scenario, the earth will no longer remain habitable and this is reason enough to conserve the fossil fuels.

But suddenly, the COVID-19 pandemic brought trade, travel, and consumer spending to a near-standstill. With billions of people recently under stay-at-home orders and economic activity plunging worldwide, the demand for and price of oil have fallen further and faster than ever before. Needless to say, oil markets have been in turmoil and producers around the world are suffering.

The Good of Fossil Fuels
Fossil fuels are very important economically. Similarly, the industry of fossil fuels employs a massive amount of workers all over the world. Most importantly, various countries depend on it.

What will happen if we do not reduce the use of fossil fuels

A new study in Science Advances finds that if we burn all of the remaining fossil fuels on Earth, almost all of the ice in Antarctica will melt

potentially causing sea levels to rise by as much as 200 feet–enough to drown most major cities in the
world.

Save Fuel for a Better Environment
The conservation of fuel through more energy-efficient technologies and practices may help extend the current reserves of petroleum, coal and gas for a few more years. Unless world economies begin to rely more on renewable resources, though, the supply will surely run out. However, there is a more important reason to conserve fossil fuels, and that’s to help heal the environment.

Burning petroleum, coal and natural gas fills the air with harmful pollutants, including nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide, ozone and a host of hydrocarbons. Besides creating smog and respiratory diseases, these pollutants – particularly carbon dioxide – collect in the atmosphere and prevent the Earth’s heat from escaping into space. As a result, scientists predict the Earth’s temperature could increase by as much as 4 degrees Celsius by the end of the century. Besides this disastrous outcome, carbon dioxide also acidifies the oceans, killing sea creatures and reducing the ability of ocean water to absorb this harmful gas.

The conservation of fuel slows both the rate of atmospheric warming and ocean acidification, hopefully giving the Earth time to heal itself. Without this respite, the Earth may reach a tipping point beyond which that healing is impossible, and it may become uninhabitable. That is probably the most compelling reason to conserve fossil fuels.

We need to phase out fossil fuels

The fossil fuel industry and their political allies have tried to convince us that they are inevitable. But we know that’s not true. The transition to a clean, healthy, just, renewable energy economy can include everyone. It can clean up pollution, create millions of high paying union Job’s and help end historic injustices, allowing all of our communities to thrive. That’s why we’re calling for presendtial candidate s to support a green new deal and a complete phase out of dangerous fossil fuels

What else can be used as a Substitute for fossil fuels

“Could the coronavirus crisis be the beginning of the end for the oil industry?” Another: “Will the coronavirus kill the oil industry and help save the climate?” Meanwhile, 2020 annual greenhouse gas emissions are forecast to decline between 4 – 7% as a result of the virus’ effects, and some of the world’s smoggiest cities are currently enjoying clear skies.

The idea that the pandemic could ultimately help save the planet misses crucial points. First and foremost, damaging the world’s economy is not the way to deal with climate change. And in terms of oil, what will take its place? We haven’t found a good substitute for oil, in terms of its availability and fitness for purpose. Although the supply is finite, oil is plentiful and the technology to extract it continues to improve, making it ever-more economic to produce and use. The same is also largely true for natural gas.

Alternative resources

1. Solar and wind power
Solar and wind power are also two popular renewable energy sources.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) has estimated that consumers currently rely on solar and wind power for between 8% and 10% of global energy use. However, the IEA acknowledges that specific policy frameworks need to be enacted, such as tax-funded government subsidies and grants, to increase the use of these alternatives. Still, IEA reports that “renewable power capacity is set to expand by 50% between 2019 and 2024” led by growth in solar photovoltaics.

Solar panels and wind turbines create the vast majority of renewable energy, but further breakthroughs are needed for the energy sector to cut its ties with fossil fuel once and for all.

2. Hydrogen fuel cell
Hydrogen is one of the earth’s most abundant elements, and like biomass energy its use in the power sector is nothing new, but exciting new developments have put it back in the spotlight. Hydrogen fuel cells can produce clean energy for a variety of different sources. They can be used in the transport sector in a similar way to lithium-ion batteries, but unlike batteries they do not run down or need recharging.

3. Nuclear Power currently, the U.S. has 96 nuclear power reactors that provide an estimated 20% of all domestic electrical output. Many other countries have larger concentrations of nuclear energy; France, for example, is the world’s foremost nuclear power and generates almost 80% of its electricity through it.
According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), nuclear power is the most effective substitute to challenge fossil fuels for future energy consumption. Compared to coal, gas, oil, and ethanol, nuclear power produces almost negligible adverse climate effects.
More importantly, nuclear power can run much more cheaply than other clean energy forms, such as solar, wind, or hydropower.

4. Geothermal power
This power source has massive potential while doing little to disrupt the land. However, the heavy upfront costs of creating geothermal power plants has led to slower adoption than may have been expected for a fuel source with so much promise.

5. Hydro electric power It is a form of energy that harnesses the power of water in motion—such as water flowing over a waterfall—to generate electricity. People have used this force for millennia. Over two thousand years ago, people in Greece used flowing water to turn the wheel of their mill to ground wheat into flour. Most hydroelectric power plants have a reservoir of water, a gate or valve to control how much water flows out of the reservoir, and an outlet or place where the water ends up after flowing downward. Water gains potential energy just before it spills over the top of a dam or flows down a hill. The potential energy is converted into kinetic energy as water flows downhill. The water can be used to turn the blades of a turbine to generate electricity, which is distributed

6. Space solar power. It is the concept of collecting solar power in outer space and distributing it to Earth. Potential advantages of collecting solar energy in space include a higher collection rate and a longer collection period due to the lack of a diffusing atmosphere, and the possibility of placing a solar collector in an orbiting location where there is no night.

7.Bio fuels
In contrast to biomass energy sources, biofuels make use of animal and plant life to create energy. In essence they are fuels that can be obtained from some form of organic matter.
They are renewable in cases where plants are used, as these can be regrown on a yearly basis. However, they do require dedicated machinery for extraction, which can contribute to increased emissions even if biofuels themselves don’t.
Biofuels are increasingly being adopted, particularly in the United States. They accounted for approximately seven percent of transport fuel consumption as of 2012

In Conclusion
As the issues that result from the use of traditional fossil fuels become more prominent, alternative fuel sources like the ones mentioned here are likely to gain further importance.