What is the Importance of Fossil Fuels?
What is the importance of fossil fuels? Well, look around you. Nearly everything you see that is not organic was made possible by fossil fuels in one way or another.
Mention fossil fuels and most people immediately think of oil. It is the dominant form of fuel, but there are others including coal and even wood. The use of fossil fuels is heavily criticized these days, which is somewhat ironic since their importance and role in our society is so critical that our world would be entirely different without them. Let’s take a look.
Oil is the evil polluting fluid based on what you read. Without it, however, the industrial revolution would not have happened. Moreover, the convenience of our modern daily lives would be non-existence. Your car? Forget it. Oil is necessary for the engine and tires. Food? Most of the food in your grocery store would not be there because oil is used in pesticides to kill plants and in vehicles to deliver the food back around the country. Think of everything that has plastic in your life? Oil is a critical component to plastic, so you can eliminate all those items as well.
What about coal? Coal is nasty stuff, but it is also plentiful and a tremendous energy producer. Coal is burned to generate energy in power plants and it does so effectively. Without it, the lights in your home would be out…your computer would not work…anything with electricity would be down and out. In fact, nobody would have invented most of the electrical items we have because there would be no power source for them!
Perhaps the most critical aspect of fossil fuels is cost. They have been so plentiful and energy packed that we’ve lived a blessed life while using them. A barrel of oil contains a huge amount of energy. Historically, it has cost us between $10 and $25. Prices are up now, but oil is still a heck of a deal even at $80 a barrel.
Are there any downsides to fossil fuels? Yes. The first is they are dirty fuels that produce dangerous pollutants when used. Second, they are limited resources, which means we need to find substitutes. Third, they are bad for the environment and can speed up climate change, which has huge societal ramifications.
What is the importance of fossil fuels? Like the foundation of a building, they form the base upon which our entire society is built. It is as simple as that.
