Fossil Fuels

Fossil fuels, including oil, coal and natural gas, are non-renewable resources that formed when prehistoric plants and animals died and were gradually buried and compressed by layers of rock over millions of years. These fuels are drilled or mined and then burned to produce electricity or refined for use as transportation fuels. From the electricity that lights our homes, to the fuels that warm us, to the cars we drive to work, modern life has been built on fossil fuels. But producing and burning fossil fuels generates CO2 that drives climate change and also creates air pollution that harms our health. (Center for Climate, Health, and the Global Environment, Harvard School of Public Health). Experts advise that rapid and deep reductions in fossil fuel use are necessary to avoid the worst effects of global warming. (IPCC 4/4/2022)