Facts
This is where we'll be putting the facts on natural gas. (Works cited at the bottom)
Fossil fuels include coal, natural gas and oil. The current statistics show that globally, fossil fuels provide for over 85% of all the energy we consume.
Coal is a combustible rock that is black in color. It runs in veins through the rock beneath the surface of the Earth. Coal mines allow miners to go underground to remove the veins from the rock itself.
Americans use about 18 millions barrels of oil everyday.
Natural gas is a form of methane. It gets trapped in pockets where plant decomposition has occurred. It can be underground, but it can also be above ground if the organic compounds in the water source of are the right type. New experiments are working to discover how to harvest methane from the waste products of animals such as cows.
It takes almost 26 tons of raw petroleum to produce 1 liter of gas. It takes almost 800 pounds of coal to power a light bulb 24/7 for an entire year. It would take the natural process of decomposition of materials 422 years to replace what we currently consume in a year in fossil fuels.
The fossil fuels we use today began forming during the Carboniferous Period which was before dinosaurs ruled the Earth.
Although fossil fuels are mainly used to make electricity, they are also used to power machines such as cars and planes.
Fossil fuels in their natural form must first be burned in order to be used as electricity.
Natural gas has no smell so a chemical called Mercaptan is added so that it can easily be detected.
Natural gas is pumped to houses by way of underground pipelines that connect directly to the natural gas source.
Oil is usually recovered by drilling wells through the non-porous rock barrier that traps the oil. In general, about 30 percent of the oil trapped can be economically recovered by pumping.
Natural gas is the gas component of coal and oil formation. It is used in industrial and commercial heating and cooking, and, increasingly, to fuel electricity generation. In a compressed form, natural gas can also be used as a transportation fuel. Natural gas is either found mixed in oil or is released from coal. Energy in 6,000 cubic feet of natural gas is equivalent to one barrel of oil. World reserves of natural gas are greatest in Russian, Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and the U.S.