Nonrenewable energy is energy that comes from the ground and is not replaced in a relatively short amount of time. Fossil fuels are the main category of nonrenewable energy. Fossil fuels include; coal, oil and natural gas. These resources come from animals and plants that have died millions of years ago and then decomposed to create a useable source of energy for humans.

Forms of nonrenewable energy

    Oil and coal are currently the most used forms of nonrenewable energy. Coal is a combustible material that comes from the earth. It is obtained from mining and is the most difficult resource to get. Oil is another combustible energy that is obtained from drilling, although unlike coal, once the hole is drilled the oil can be pumped out of the hole. This makes it easier and more cost effective to gather oil then coal. 

Around the World

    Internationally most of the world’s oil is located in the Middle East. This causes a problem for the world powers that require mass amounts of oil because this region is, historically, politically unstable. The war in Iraq is an example of the turmoil located in the Middle East. In the past when one group has not wanted another to get the oil they have set the oil refinery on fire. Other oil stores are located around the world and each is exploited by the associative country. Another area of much debate is Alaska in the Northern United States. Alaska is mostly forest and a home to many animals. Some congressmen want to tap into the oil that is underneath Alaska but environmentalists say that it is not worth destroying all of the natural land just to get oil. Because of the reluctance of the United States’ government we rely primarily on oil coming from the Middle East.

International implications

    The world relies mainly on nonrenewable energy sources such as oil. As previously stated most of the oil in the world is located in the Middle East. Most of the instability in this region is because of one country wanting to fight another over oil, because they are afraid that we are going to run out of oil. Other problems arise from using oil, such as; large cities such as Toronto, Canada and New York City, New York sometimes has a brown haze over the city. This is due to the large number of cars in these cities that causes more pollution then the average city.

Solutions

    The main solution, and one of the main topics of this website, is finding a cheap, usable, renewable form of energy. Currently there are researchers, scientists and government agencies trying to find a solution to this evolving problem.