PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS: Fossil Fuels

For years, fossil fuels (coal, petroleum, and natural gas) have been our main energy source for running our power plants. These fuels were inexpensive, easy to obtain, and easy to store. But each one has a limited supply. All three are non-renewable. At the rate we are burning coal and petroleum, we will run out sometime during this century.

Burning fossil fuels also contributes to air pollution and to increased levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is one of the "greenhouse gases" responsible for global climate changes.

Compared to coal and petroleum, natural gas is more plentiful. The supply we have could last 200 years. Some scientists are working on ways to make the burning of natural gas safer for the environment. They propose that we separate the carbon dioxide from the gas before it is burned, and inject the carbon back into the ground.

NEXT: Nuclear Power