In any discussion of energy, the subject of carbon fuels comes quickly to the forefront. Are they good or bad for us? Do they cause global warming? Before entering the debate, just what are carbon fuels?

What are Carbon Fuels?

Carbon fuels form one of the great debates in society these days. They are the building blocks of nearly every economy in the world. This also makes them a great point of tension given the fact that some countries have more than others. Throw in issues of pollution, greenhouse gases and global warming and you have a lively, important debate on energy. So, just what are carbon fuels, and how do we use them in every day life?

The question of what are carbon fuels can start with a definition. Carbon fuels are any hydrocarbons that are formed from decaying plants and animals. They include such fuels as coal, natural gas and oil. Carbon fuels are also known as mineral fuels because of the way they are created.

The creation of carbon fuels from the decay of animals and plants was first hypothesized in 1757 by Mikhail Lomonosov and was quickly proven to be fact. The buried, compressed deposits of organic decayed matter are subjected to heat and pressure for millions of years. This process turns the material from raw organic matter into the forms of crude oil, natural gas and coal that we use today.

Despite being demonized today, one must remember that carbon fuels arguably are the reason you are sitting in that warm room surfing the Internet and have a car in the garage. These fuels formed the building blocks of the industrial revolution. Without them, we would still arguably be riding horses and living at a much lower standard of quality. In fact, if carbon fuels were eliminated completely today, civilization would cease to exist as we know it. Your lights would go out. There would be no phone service. Your car would be useless. Medical care would be devastated as hospitals would have no electricity. The world would become isolated since transport from country to country would be greatly reduced. In short, it would be like stepping back in time 100 years.

What are carbon fuels? They are the building blocks of our modern way of life. The question facing us is not whether we should demonize carbon fuels. Instead, it is how we should moderate our use of them given the obvious downsides that come with massive energy production in the form of greenhouse gases, pollutants and so on.