Running head: Global Warming 1

Fossil Fuels:

The Impact on Global Warming

Abdulaziz Alsiyabi

University of Kentucky
Running head: Global Warming

Abstract

Our planet is warming every year. We should first ask our selves; who is responsible for

this phenomena? Why is this happening? How could we help our Earth to stay safe? All these

questions have been already asked before. The reasons behind climate change are already found.

Every year, we are using fossil fuels excessively in our daily life. Global warming is one of the

risks that primary caused by the excessive use of fossil fuels. People are still arguing about using

fossil fuels or stop using them. If we can find other solutions that are not harmful for our planet,

why do we still rely on fossil fuels? It is the time to change our minds and forget what is called

fossil fuels.

Key Words: fossil fuels, global warming, environment, risks, impact, powdered metal
Running head: Global Warming 1

The story of fossil fuels began millions of years ago. It began originally with there were many

organisms that died and broke down in the surface of the Earth. The organic materials that these

organisms left behind mixed with sand to make what is called now called fossil fuels. There are

many types of fossil fuels such as like oil, coal and natural gas. Since that time, the world has

used fossil fuels enormously, which lead to many serious problems that the world suffers from

now. The majority of fossil fuels emit carbon dioxide (C O2 ) , which helps to increase the

levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. This helps to trap more solar energy (suns heat) in

the climate system and increases the average temperature of the Earth. During the past 50 years,

the average temperature has increased at the fastest rate ever recorded. Further U.S will increase

its average temperature by 3 to 9 degrees by the end of the century (MacMillan, 2016).

In this paper I will try to convince the American government of how important its this case,

as the United States has one of the height CO2 emissions in the world with a rate of 17.56 metric

tons per capita (The world bank, 2016). I will persuade my thoughts to into three main points.

The first point is about the impact that fossil fuels cause on raising the average Earth temperature

and the ways fossil fuels take to destroy the world. The second point talks about the reasons of

why we should care about this issue. At the end, I will argue about reducing the use of the fossil

fuels and use other replacement such as the Powdered Metal.

Global warming is essentially caused by the excessive use of fossil fuels since it has negatively

impacted the world unless we lower the use of fossil fuels and find other friendly resources for

the environment.
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Figure 1: The graph shows the level of carbon dioxide on the air and the years (NASA).

As a chemical engineer, I have enough background of what is happening with global

warming these days because my job is to use chemicals to make the world a better place.

Therefore, I have done a lot of research about global warming. I found out that one of the biggest

causes for global warming is fossil fuel, which is one of the most common chemical produced by

chemical engineers. we have to take into account this problem and look for solutions in order to

keep our Earth safe.

There is a lot of evidence that shows the impact of fossil fuels on global warming. When

sunlight comes through the ozone layer, Earth absorbs about 70% of it. Clouds and other layers

of the atmosphere reflect the remaining amount before it hits the surface of the Earth. This

process helps our planet stay warm (Strickland & Grabianow, 2005). The Ozone layer contains

many gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. These gases help keep the planet

warm. When fossil fuels burn, they produce carbon dioxide (C O 2 ) . These gases are also

called greenhouse gases. Global warming is caused by the greenhouse effect. When you drive,

your car emits C O2 . Carbon dioxide goes to the atmosphere and stays there. As the
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atmosphere gains too much of carbon

dioxide, the greenhouse layer will be

thicker and reflect the heat that comes

from the surface. Therefore, the Earth

starts to get warmer as long as the

atmosphere still blocks the heat that

comes from the surface. The average

temperature on the Earth is about 16 C

(F) Sharp (2012) (para.3).

Every year the emission of

carbon dioxide increases. The reason

behind that is that the global population

Figure 2: This image illustrates the idea of how global
is growing rapidly. According to recent
warming occurs (Strickland & Grabianowski, 2005)
research the United States has 0.7%

annual population growth (The world bank, 2016). As a result, the number of fossil fuel

consuming vehicles increased, which helps the average emission of carbon dioxide to

graduate tremendously. We all need to take a look about what is happening to the world now.

The world should reduce the use of fossil fuels and search for other substitutions that are

useful and environmentally friendly at the same time. Scientists are still worried about what

global warming can bring to the world since fossil fuels play an essential role in our life; it is

hard to stop using them. Furthermore, one of the core problems with replacing fossil fuels

throughout a modern industrial economy is the difficulty of finding a replacement for coal, oil,

and natural gas.

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A new report from researchers at McGill University suggests a new solution that can be

used, as an alternative for fossil fuels is powdered metal fuels. Powdered metal fuels are

considered more reliable than solar and the wind power. According to Professor Jeffrey

Bergthorson, the rise in renewable power is laudable, but only addresses part of the problem.

Neither solar nor wind power provides enough electricity to directly drive a car, much less a
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freighter. Battery technology can fill this gap to some extent,(Hruska, 2015)
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Powdered metal fuels are considered as the best option to replace fossil fuels because they

release the same amount of energy while simultaneously reducing carbon emissions and

environmental costs. Which can be summarized in the infographic below:

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Furthermore, the powdered metal engine is unlike the internal combustion engines used in

gasoline-powered cars. The powdered metal can only be used with external- combustion

engines, which operate using heat from an outside source. The picture below shows a few
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examples of powdered metal being used in external- combustion engines. The amount of

energy produced is similar to using the fossil fuels. McGill researchers write, The energy and

power densities of the proposed metal-fueled heat engines are predicted to be close to current

fossil-fueled internal combustion engines, making them an attractive technology for a future

low-carbon society."(Hruska, 2015 )

The idea of burning metal powders as fuel is nothing new. Scientists have been using it since

the mid-20th century on different application such as rockets, propellants, and fireworks.

However, only limited research has been done on the potential for metal powders to be used as a

recyclable fuel. McGill researchers proved that a flame could be stabilized in a flow of tiny metal

particle suspended in air.

Global warming is a real risk that our world suffers from. The Earth is suffering from

rising average temperatures caused by global warming as a result of excessive use of fossil

fuels. Now, we know how global warming works and what causes it to expand. and be. Knowing

that fossil fuels are the main cause of global warming can change our previous thoughts and

make us more cautious of fossil fuels. As a result, we need to reduce the using of fossil fuels and

not depend on them as the only energy source. Global warming is essentially caused by the

excessive use of fossil fuels. It will continue to negatively impact the world unless we lower the

use of fossil fuels and find other friendly resources for the environment. The powder metal is the

best option to replace fossil fuels because it can produce the same amount of energy with almost

zero CO2 emissions.

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References

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http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EN.ATM.CO2E.PC

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https://phys.org/news/2015-12-metal-powders-potential-fossil-fuels.html

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from http://www.nrdc.org/globalwarming/f101.asp
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