Is fossil energy really indispensable to our lives?

Fossil energy, such as oil, coal, and natural gas, is deeply intertwined in our daily lives, and despite its many problems, it remains an important source of energy. However, due to environmental pollution and resource depletion, it is necessary to find and develop alternative energy sources.

 

As long as we breathe and live, a large amount of fossil energy is used worldwide. Many people don’t realize it, but fossil energy has become an essential part of our existence. If fossil energy were to disappear for an instant, the world would be thrown into chaos. What is it about fossil energy that makes it so intertwined with our lives?
First, let’s look at the dictionary definition of fossil energy: fossil fuels, or fossil energy, are fuels derived from the remains of plants and animals buried in the earth’s crust and fossilized over time. Common fossil fuels include oil, coal, and natural gas.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, 45% of South Korea’s energy consumption comes from oil, 26% from coal, and 14% from natural gas. As you can see, the majority of the energy we use is fossil energy. Fossil energy is made from the remains of plants and animals that were buried in the earth’s crust long ago and were unable to access oxygen in the air, and through long periods of decomposition and chemical reactions, the hydrocarbons produced are now used as fossil fuels.
Let’s learn more about the main fossil energy sources we use: oil, coal, and natural gas. Oil is the most common fossil energy we use. Petroleum is made by separating crude oil into petroleum gas, naphtha, kerosene, diesel, heavy fuel oil, and asphalt through fractional distillation using boiling point differences. Each type of petroleum is used for different purposes depending on its properties. Naphtha is used in our cars, and kerosene is used to fuel airplanes. Asphalt is used to pave roads. Oil reserves are concentrated in a few countries, with Saudi Arabia having the most crude oil reserves, accounting for 25.2% of the total. The Middle East region, including Saudi Arabia, accounts for 65.2% of the total. For this reason, there are many people in the Middle East who have gotten rich in the oil business, and we often refer to them as “oil tycoons,” “oil princes,” and so on. Oil is a highly volatile commodity due to high demand and limited production. Because so many industries use oil, these price fluctuations have a huge impact on the global economy.
Coal, the second largest source of fossil energy, is used in many places because it is cheap. Coal is categorized into two main types: anthracite and bituminous. Anthracite is a type of coal that burns well and produces no smoke, which means it doesn’t catch fire easily, but it maintains a constant temperature and produces a strong fire. In the past, people used anthracite for cooking and heating because of these properties, but in recent years, demand has been declining in favor of oil due to the risk of harmful gas leaks. Unlike anthracite, bituminous coal burns with a characteristic odor. It is easy to ignite and can reach high temperatures in an instant, making it the main fuel for the coal chemical industry.
Finally, natural gas is a naturally occurring gas that comes from oil fields and coal mines, and includes methane and ethane. Methane gas is the simplest hydrocarbon gas and exists as a gas at room temperature. It is the main raw material for LNG. Ethane gas exists in much smaller quantities than methane and is mainly used in buses that run on domestic or natural gas. In the past, it was not used much due to the inconvenience of transportation, but in recent years, its use has increased due to advances in the technology to liquefy natural gas. As an example of this, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) raised its forecast for U.S. natural gas production this year.
There are three main problems with fossil energy. The first is the finite amount of fossil energy reserves, the second is the pollution caused by harmful gases from fossil energy use, and the third is global warming. Let’s take a look at the first problem: limited reserves. According to an analysis based on fossil energy usage in 1995, there are only 43 years of oil, 65 years of natural gas, and 228 years of coal reserves. Moreover, because energy consumption is increasing with population growth and industrial development, many experts believe that fossil energy will be depleted sooner rather than later. Therefore, there are many predictions that we will soon run out of fossil energy. The second problem, environmental pollution by harmful gases, is caused by carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, etc. that are produced during the combustion of fossil fuels. These gases basically cause air pollution. Air pollution disrupts the lives of people and many plants and animals. A typical example of air pollution is smog. It also causes acid rain, which is when pollutants released into the air dissolve into water. This acid rain not only affects the aquatic life that lives in rivers and lakes, but it also leaves bad elements in the soil. Finally, there’s the issue of global warming. Gases such as carbon dioxide, which are produced by the indiscriminate use of fossil fuels, accumulate in the atmosphere. These gases prevent the release of thermal energy from the sun, causing the average temperature of the planet to rise. The ripple effects of the greenhouse effect include melting ice caps, rising sea levels due to melting glaciers, and disruption of the food chain. These problems have led to the search for new energy sources to replace fossil energy.
As we’ve seen, fossil energy is close and important to our lives due to its supply, convenience, and popularity. However, despite these advantages, the world’s trend has recently been shifting towards replacing fossil energy. Many experts argue that we need to replace fossil energy as soon as possible. For example, former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev advocated nuclear energy as an alternative to fossil energy, saying, “Developing countries such as China and India, which have large populations, are on a path of steep economic growth. They will need enormous amounts of energy, so they should develop nuclear energy.”
Alternative energy sources to fossil energy include solar, hydroelectric, nuclear, and wind power. Unlike fossil energy, alternative energies are not only infinitely renewable, but they are also less polluting, and they are constantly being developed. In fact, in South Korea, some city buses are being converted to electricity-powered buses to protect the environment. The percentage of alternative energy is still smaller than fossil energy, but it’s growing. Engineers are working to make this change faster and more efficient.