Fossil fuels are an important part of life. When you turn on the lights, watch TV or take a shower, the electricity you are using is generated by fossil fuels. The three types of fossil fuels are coal, crude oil, and natural gas. They all take millions of years to form, so they are considered “non-renewable”: eventually, fossil fuels will all be used up. A dangerous biological effect resulting from the use of fossil fuels is the acidification of the oceans. Extracting and transporting fossil fuels can also be very dangerous. Environmentally damaging incidents such as groundwater contamination, land subsidence and oil spills occur frequently. Global warming is another possible environmental effect. Fossil fuels play a crucial role in modern society, but because they are non-renewable and dangerous, we should reduce our dependence on them and explore alternative energy sources. Wind power, hydropower, and solar power are some examples of renewable fuel sources. There are also many things people can do every day to save energy (and, as a result, conserve fossil fuels). There are three types of fossil fuels: coal, crude oil, and natural gas. Coal formed very slowly. Even the “newer” coal we use today was formed a million years ago. Most of the coal we use was formed 300 million years ago, when the Earth was covered in swamps. When plants and trees died, they sank to the bottom of the swamps. These plants and trees were arranged on top of each other, forming a substance called peat. Peat is considered the first stage in the formation of coal. It is a mixture of water, leaves, branches and other plant debris. Over time, the Earth changed and deposits of sand, clay and other minerals formed, burying the peat. Sedimentary rock… half the paper… can escape through poorly insulated walls and roofs. The three fossil fuels: coal, crude oil and gas formed slowly over millions of years. Nowadays we use fossil fuels to power everything: houses, buildings, cars, computers, lights, etc. However, fossil fuel deposits will run out soon, which is a big problem. The extraction, transportation and burning of fossil fuels are dangerous. There are also many negative biological and environmental impacts from fossil fuel use, such as ocean acidification, groundwater contamination, land subsidence, oil spills, and global warming. Therefore, we should try to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and instead explore alternative energy sources such as wind power, hydropower and solar power. Our world depends on fossil fuels, but they can also harm us. Fossil fuels are both a blessing and a curse.