All life is rich in the element carbon, which plays a key role in virtually all...

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All life is rich in the element carbon, which plays a key role in virtually all the chemicals that make up our cells. Life uses the Sun's energy, directly through photosynthesis or indirectly through food, to form these carbon-based substances that store chemical potential energy. When living things die, they may collect in layers at the bottoms of ponds, lakes, o oceans. Over time, as the layers become buried, Earth's temperature and pressure may alter the chemicals of life into deposits of coal and petroleum. Geologists estimate that it takes tens of millions of years of gradual burial under layers of sediments, combined with transforming effects of temperature and pressure, to form a coal seam or petroleum deposit. Coal forms from layer upon layer of plants that thrived in vast ancient swamps, while petroleum represents primarily the organic matter once contained in plankton, microscopic organisms that float near the ocean's surface. Although these natural processes continue today, the rate of coal and petroleum formation in Earth's crust is much slower than the rate at which fossil fuels are being consumed. For this reason, fossil fuels are classified as nonrenewable resources. Once consequence of this situation is clear. Humans cannot continue to rely on these fossil fuels forever. Reserves of high-grade crude oil and the cleanest-burning varieties of coal may last less than 100 more years. Less efficient forms of fossil fuels, including lower grades of coal and oil shales in which petroleum is dispersed through solid rock, could be depleted within a few centuries. All the energy now locked up in those valuable energy resources will still exist, but in the form of unusable heat radiating far into space. 1. Given the irreversibility of burning up our fossil fuel reserves, what steps should we take to promote energy conservation? 2. Should energy be taxed at a higher rate? 3. Should we assume that natural gas and other energy sources will become available as they are needed? All life is rich in the element carbon, which plays a key role in virtually all the chemicals that make up our cells. Life uses the Sun's energy, directly through photosynthesis or indirectly through food, to form these carbon-based substances that store chemical potential energy. When living things die, they may collect in layers at the bottoms of ponds, lakes, o oceans. Over time, as the layers become buried, Earth's temperature and pressure may alter the chemicals of life into deposits of coal and petroleum. Geologists estimate that it takes tens of millions of years of gradual burial under layers of sediments, combined with transforming effects of temperature and pressure, to form a coal seam or petroleum deposit. Coal forms from layer upon layer of plants that thrived in vast ancient swamps, while petroleum represents primarily the organic matter once contained in plankton, microscopic organisms that float near the ocean's surface. Although these natural processes continue today, the rate of coal and petroleum formation in Earth's crust is much slower than the rate at which fossil fuels are being consumed. For this reason, fossil fuels are classified as nonrenewable resources. Once consequence of this situation is clear. Humans cannot continue to rely on these fossil fuels forever. Reserves of high-grade crude oil and the cleanest-burning varieties of coal may last less than 100 more years. Less efficient forms of fossil fuels, including lower grades of coal and oil shales in which petroleum is dispersed through solid rock, could be depleted within a few centuries. All the energy now locked up in those valuable energy resources will still exist, but in the form of unusable heat radiating far into space. 1. Given the irreversibility of burning up our fossil fuel reserves, what steps should we take to promote energy conservation? 2. Should energy be taxed at a higher rate? 3. Should we assume that natural gas and other energy sources will become available as they are needed?

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Steps to promote energy conservation Individual actions Reduce energy consumption Turn off lights and electronics when not in use use energyefficient ... View the full answer