Fossil fuels are fuels formed from the remains of ancient organisms. There are three main types: coal, oil, and natural gas. Coal forms from peat and contains carbon. Oil forms from the remains of organisms buried under sediment and forms under heat and pressure. Natural gas forms in a similar way to oil and is lighter than air. Fossil fuels are important energy sources but their extraction and use also carries environmental risks like oil spills.

1. Fossil Fuels By: Daniel Beltran per # 9

2. What are fossil fuels? Fossil fuels are fuels produced by natural resources like anaerobic decomposition of buried dead organisms. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fossil_Fuels

3. What are different types of fossil Fuels? Coal, oil and natural gas. http://web.me.com/davgen1/ILS_12-22/Fossil_Fuels.html

4. How is coal formed? Coal is made up of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen and sulphur. The three main types of coal are anthracite, bituminous and lignite. Anthracite coal is the hardest and has more carbon. Lignite is the softest and is low in carbon but high in hydrogen and oxygen content. Bituminous is in between anthracite and lignite. http://web.me.com/davgen1/ILS_12-22/Fossil_Fuels.html

5. Stages of coal formation 1. Peatis a fibrous, soft, spongy substance in which plant remains are easily recognizable. It contains a large amount of water and must be dry before use. 2. Ligniteis formed when peat is subjected to increased vertical pressure from accumulating sediments. It crumbles with no trouble and should not be shipped or handled before use. 3. Bituminous Coalis greatly used in industry as a source of heat energy. 4. Anthraciteis also known as "hard coal" because it is hard and has a high lustre. http://www.minersmuseum.com/educational_resources/Coal%20Formation%20Text.pdf

6. How is coal used as a fossil fuel? The main deposits of fossil fuels are from the Carboniferous Period. http://web.me.com/davgen1/ILS_12-22/Fossil_Fuels.html

7. How is oil formed? As diatoms died they fell to the sea floor. They were buried under sediment and other rock. The rock squeezed diatoms and the energy in their bodies could not escape. Carbon eventually turned into oil under pressure and heat. http://web.me.com/davgen1/ILS_12-22/Fossil_Fuels.html

8. How is oil used as a fossil fuel? Coal have been formed from the organic remains of prehistoric plants and animals. http://home.clara.net/darvill/altenerg/fossil.htm

9. How is natural gas formed? Natural gas is lighter than air. Natural gas is mostly made up of methane. http://web.me.com/davgen1/ILS_12-22/Fossil_Fuels.html

10. How is natural gas used as a fossil fuel? Somewhere between 6,000 to 2,000 years BCE, the first discoveries of natural gas seeps was made in Iran. The gas seeps, probably first ignited by lightning, provided fuel for the "eternal fires" of the fire-worshiping religion of the ancient Persians. http://web.me.com/davgen1/ILS_12-22/Fossil_Fuels.html

11. What are refineries and why are they important to the production of fossil fuels? An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial process plant where oil is processed and refined into more useful petroleum products, like gasoline, diesel fuel, asphalt base, heating oil, kerosene, and liquefied petroleum gas. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil_refineries http://www.energyquest.ca.gov/story/chapter08.html

12. What happened at the Exxon Valdez oil spill? On March 24, 1989, the tanker Exxon Valdez, from Valdez, Alaska to Los Angelesran aground on Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound, Alaska. Exxon Valdez spilled approximately 10.9 million gallons of 53 million gallon cargo of the Prudhoe Bay crude oil. The oil would eventually impact over 1,100 miles of non-continuous coastline in Alaska, cleanup started in April of 1989 and continued until September of 1989 for the first year of the response. The response effort continued in 1990 and 1991 with cleanup in the summer months, and limited shoreline monitoring in the winter months. Dead and dying wildlife, and thousands of workers mobilized to clean beaches. There were a lot of tourism looses. http://www.eoearth.org/article/exxon_valdez_oil_spill

13. What is happening at the oil spill at the golf of Mexico? On April 20th 2010, Explosion and fire on Transocean Ltd drilling rig Deepwater Horizon that was licensed to BP (British Petroleum); 11 workers went missing, 17 injured. The rig was drilling in BP's Macondo project 42 miles southeast of Venice, Louisiana. Oil spill experts have capped one of the three leaks and are now reducing a containment vessel on top of the biggest portion of the spill. In the mean time, Industries like fishing and tourism have been hit hard by the recent oil spill. There are bans on fishing in some parts of the water, as the fish could be affected by the oil. Many families have canceled their vacation plans in areas around the Gulf Coast such as Dauphin Island Alabama and also around the coasts of Mississippi and Alabama. Up to 200,000 gallons of crude oil are pouring into the once pristine waters of the Gulf Coast! http://web.me.com/davgen1/ILS_12-22/Fossil_Fuels.html http://cnmnewsnetwork.com/112644/oil-spill-in-gulf-of-mexico-2010-cleanup-and-containment-efforts-and-pictures/