another clue....they're not fossil fuels, and we;re not gonna run out.
You are completely incorrect on that statement. That is a total falsehood. If you have
ever learned
anything of the earth's history, you would know that dinosaurs and their assorted bretheren walked this earth for millions upon millions of years.
In prehistoric times, there were swamps that eventually were covered with rock. Intense heat and pressure compressed and rearranged the molecules of these compunds and changed them into oil and coal. Tell me how these are not "fossil" fuels.
So far you have given no evidence to support your points. If you are to tell me that all of those organic compounds just went away, then you are a complete liar. All you have done to prove your point is to contradict me. Here is my proof, from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crude_Oil
Formation
According to generally accepted theory, petroleum is derived from ancient biomass.[14] The theory was initially based on the isolation of molecules from petroleum that closely resemble known biomolecules (Figure).
Structure of vanadium porphyrin compound extracted from petroleum by Alfred Treibs, father of organic geochemistry. Treibs noted the close structural similarity of this molecule and chlorophyll a.
More specifically, crude oil and natural gas are products of heating of ancient organic materials (i.e. kerogen) over geological time. Formation of petroleum occurs from hydrocarbon pyrolysis, in a variety of mostly endothermic reactions at high temperature and/or pressure.[15] Today's oil formed from the preserved remains of prehistoric zooplankton and algae, which had settled to a sea or lake bottom in large quantities under anoxic conditions (the remains of prehistoric terrestrial plants, on the other hand, tended to form coal). Over geological time the organic matter mixed with mud, and was buried under heavy layers of sediment resulting in high levels of heat and pressure (diagenesis). This process caused the organic matter to change, first into a waxy material known as kerogen, which is found in various oil shales around the world, and then with more heat into liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons via a process known as catagenesis.
Geologists often refer to the temperature range in which oil forms as an "oil window"[16]—below the minimum temperature oil remains trapped in the form of kerogen, and above the maximum temperature the oil is converted to natural gas through the process of thermal cracking. Sometimes, oil which is formed at extreme depths may migrate and become trapped at much shallower depths than where it was formed. The Athabasca Oil Sands is one example of this.
And here is my proof that you are wrong: Again same place.
Extensive research into the chemical structure of kerogen has identified algae as the primary source of oil. The abiogenic origin hypothesis fails to explain the presence of these markers in kerogen and oil, as well as failing to explain how inorganic origin could be achieved at temperatures and pressures sufficient to convert kerogen to graphite. It has not been successfully used in uncovering oil deposits by geologists, as the hypothesis lacks any mechanism for determining where the process may occur.
If you don't trust Wikipedia, here are some other sites:
http://library.thinkquest.org/J0112442/historyform.htmlOil is a fossil fuel. Millions of years ago, tiny sea creatures and plants died and fell to the bottom of the ocean floor. Layer on top of layer of this organic material collected and decomposed. Year after year, sand and rocks covered the layers until pressure built up. The high temperature of the rotting material, along with the pressure from the layers of rock and sand that covered it, caused a chemical reaction. Eventually, petroleum was created. Then the ancient seas dried up and oil remained trapped under tons of earth.
This is from
http://www.earthsky.org/faqpost/energy/how-do-coal-and-oil-formBoth coal and oil are fossil fuels. That means they’re formed from organic matter – stuff that was alive on Earth millions of years ago – that was covered by heavy layers of rock. Over time, the increased pressures and heat resulting from the overlying rock transformed the decomposed matter to coal or oil.
Both coal and oil are carbon-based fuels – they’re made up mostly of carbon and hydrogen. Coal usually forms from buried tissues of higher plants. Most of Earth’s coal originated as trees, ferns, and other tropical forest plants that lived in a warmer time in our history. That’s why the world’s coal beds are found on land.
Oil mostly originated as very simple organisms – such as bacteria, algae and plankton. This organic matter – and often the sandstone or limestone beds that hold the oil – was deposited in marine or lake basins, and in the ocean. Both oil and coal are non-renewable – once we use up all we have, it’s gone.
Checkmate.
-Penguin
