what are the advantages and disadvantages of using fossil fuels?

Question

Coal, oil, and natural gas are teh only ones i could think of i need hep with the advantages more

Thanks

Answer 1

Some advantages to using fossil fuels are:
1) They have incredible energy density. For their weight, they contain a lot of energy which enables us build machines for transportation (like cars, trains, and planes). Without this energy density we couldn't fly airplanes, even coal is too heavy to fly an airplane, so we need oil for that. The only fuels that I'm aware of that have higher energy densities than oil are rocket fuels that are derived from fossil fuels, and nuclear fuel like Uranium.

2) They are easy and cheap to get. Oil, natural gas, and coal are relatively abundant and found in many parts of the world.

3) A lot of existing infrastructure is already geared towards the use of fossil fuels. We use fossil fuels not only to power our cars, but to produce electricity, produce many important chemicals, and produce fertilizer.

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Some of the disadvantages:
1) Fossil fuels put out CO2 (a known greenhouse gas), they also often have nasty chemicals like lead and sulfur that get put in the air when we burn them.

2) There is a lot of political instability in the world due to where some fossil fuels are found. Primarily these locations are in the Middle East and it helps to fuel a lot of violence around the world.

Answer 2

The advantages include low cost, the gas (oxygen) needed to oxidize and produce energy is readily available in the air, our infrastructure is already geared towards using fossil fuels, and liquid hydrocarbons are THE most efficient way to carry energy in the form of fuel.

Disadvantages include emission of CO2, that might be affecting global climate (or might not, evidence is not clear-cut at present), waste of valuable hydrocarbon feedstocks for energy instead of conserving them for future use, some unavoidable pollution (mercury, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, dioxins, etc.), and ravaging large portions of the land for obtaining said fossil fuels.

With the ready availability of nuclear energy that does not emit CO2, and the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository scheduled to open that takes care of the last remaining bona fide issue with nuclear, there is little reason to waste fossil fuel resources for mere generation of energy.

Answer 3

Advantages:
1) Abundant (For Right Now)
2) Large supply of energy

Disadvantages:
1) Pollution/Environmental damage
2) Slowly reducing supply

Answer 4

(L)
Fossil fuels, coal, oil and natural gas, are a non-renewable source of energy. Formed from plants and animals that lived up to 300 million years ago, fossil fuels are found in deposits beneath the earth. The fuels are burned to release the chemical energy that is stored within this resource. Energy is essential to moden society as we know it. Over 85% of our energy demands are met by the combustion of fossil fuels. These two pie charts show exactly how vital fossil fuels are to our society by showing how much of each energy resource is consumed.
for more details.
http://www.umich.edu/~gs265/society/fossilfuels.htm
Coal, oil and gas are called "fossil fuels" because they have been formed from the organic remains of prehistoric plants and animals.

Find out more about how they formed at www.energyquest.ca.gov/story/chapter08.html

At the time this page was written, they provided around 66% of the world's electrical power, and 95% of the world's total energy demands (including heating, transport, electricity generation and other uses).

for more details
http://home.clara.net/darvill/altenerg/fossil.htm

Answer 5

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
what are the advantages and disadvantages of using fossil fuels?
Coal, oil, and natural gas are teh only ones i could think of i need hep with the advantages more

Thanks

Answer 6

The primary advantages are:

1) Cost - They are the least expensive to produce, transport and consume
2) Energy density - More energy per unit consumed than most alternatives
3) Distribution - Easily stored and transported compared to other fuels.
4) Fit for purpose - most of our energy consuming infastructure was designed to use these fuels and cannot be easily (or cheaply) converted to alternative fuels.

Answer 7

If you use fossil fuel you go places. If you don't you walk places.

Answer 8

Advantages:
1. Very economical
2. Very available
3. Very convenient in that it can be used in the internal combustion engine.
4. Very high energy output.