Main topic information 2
Energy resources
The modern world is largely dependent on the planet’s energy resources to produce the electricity and heat needed for domestic use, transport, industry and many other activities. Energy is vital for economic growth, improving the quality of life and social development of society.
The main energy sources used by mankind for centuries are fossil fuels – coal, oil, natural gas. These have been formed over millions of years from organic materials – plant and animal remains buried by sand, silt and other sediments. Under the influence of high pressure and temperature deep in the Earth’s crust, organic matter begins to change, but stores the energy of sunlight and converts it into chemical energy. Depending on conditions, this organic matter is converted into oil, natural gas or coal.
These are non-renewable natural resources that have formed over very long geological periods and are being depleted much faster than they can be replenished. This means that once they are depleted, they will not be available for future generations.
These fuels are very useful because small amounts of them contain a lot of energy.
However, there are serious problems associated with their use:
- They are finite resources, their supply is not infinite and energy consumption is increasing.
- Extracting and burning them leads to carbon dioxide pollution.
- Their emissions are one of the main causes of climate change on a global scale.
That is why the efforts of scientists around the world are focused on developing and switching to the use of alternative clean energy sources that are renewable. These include wind, water, the sun and renewable energy from biomass. The European Union has adopted a number of documents that clearly regulate the commitments of the entire European community to limit the use of fossil fuels for energy and to reach 20% of total EU energy consumption by 2020 and 27% by 2030 from renewable sources. Recycling materials to reduce the extraction of new raw materials and developing new, more efficient and sustainable technologies for energy production and consumption will also contribute to limiting the harmful impact of fossil fuels on the environment and improving quality of life.
