Essay on Conservation of Coal and Petroleum

1. Conservation of Coal and Petroleum
Coal and petroleum are called fossil fuels. Coal and petroleum are
the natural resources that are important ‘sources’ of energy for us.
Coal and petroleum were formed from the degradation of biomass
of plants and animals respectively, buried deep under the earth
millions of years ago. We obtain coal from the ‘coal mines’ dug into
the earth and petroleum is obtained by digging ‘oil wells’ deep in
the earth. The crude petroleum oil obtained from oil wells is then
separated into fuels such as LPG, petrol, diesel, and kerosene.
Coal is used as a fuel as such in homes and in industry, or it is used
to generate electricity at Thermal Power Plants. Petroleum
products such as petrol and diesel are used as fuels in transport to
run scooters, motorcycles, cars, buses, trucks, trains, ships, and
airplanes. Kerosene and LPG obtained from petroleum are used as
domestic fuels for cooking food, etc.
As we already know, coal and petroleum are exhaustible sources of
energy. If they are not used judiciously, they will not last for more
than a few decades. Since they are widely used as sources of energy
throughout the world, it is of utmost importance to think about
their conservation.
We can conserve coal and petroleum by switching to alternative or
renewable sources of energy, such as hydel power, wind energy,
geothermal energy, tidal energy, etc. Not only these alternatives will
provide us with more environmentally friendly options for
sustainable development, but they will also help in delaying the
energy crisis that the world is about to face very shortly.