FOSSIL FUELS VS ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
The environmental cost of
petrol and diesel is high,
but alternative fuels could
alleviate the impact on
our planet
WORDS SCOTT DUTFIELD
DID YOU KNOW? The US is the largest producer and consumer of crude oil in the world
With petrol prices hitting an all-time high in parts of the world, many people are switching to alternative fuel sources. For example, electric car sales worldwide have more than doubled in the last two years. However, the monetary costs of gas guzzling aren’t the only pinch people are feeling as the effects of climate change become ever apparent.
Around 25 per cent of the world’s emissions of the most abundant greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide (CO 2), come from vehicles with combustion engines. Along with producing other greenhouse gases such as methane and nitrogen oxide, cars are filling the air with compounds that contribute to the effects of global warming. The reason why vehicles are such climate criminals is due to their fossil fuel diet.
Since the late 1800s we have been using petroleum to fuel combustion engines for transport. Petroleum is a hydrocarbon, meaning it’s composed of hydrogen and carbon atoms. Its carbon-rich composition is the result of fossilised organic matter being heated and compressed over millions of years underground to form crude oil. This crude oil is then distilled into several substances, including petroleum.
Petroleum is highly combustible, and when injected into a vehicle’s internal combustion engine can generate enough force to turn the wheels. Along with propelling a vehicle, burning petrol also releases toxic gases, including greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide. This is due to the carbon atoms breaking from hydrogen during combustion and binding with atmospheric oxygen to create carbon dioxide.