Fossil Fuels and Climate Change

What are Fossil Fuels?

Fossil fuels are a liquid that is very easy to burn. That means that fossil fuels are flammable. These fuels are formed by decaying plants and animals that have been underground for millions of years. Fossil fuels are organic or natural materials. Fossil fuels are created when dead plants get buried under layers and layers of sediment or rock and soil. As the rocks and sediment pile up over the plants, over millions of years, the plants turn into a liquid. The liquid is very flammable when cleaned up. This means that it can produce power for lots of things.

What Effect Does Fossil Fuels Have On Climate Change?

Fossil fuels are burned to create electricity, power cars, and heat homes. When humans burn things, they release a gas called Carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas that can trap the heat from the Sun in the Earth’s atmosphere. That causes the Earth to warm up. Because humans are using lots of fossil fuels to power lots of things, the Carbon dioxide gas in our atmosphere starts trapping more heat. That might cause sea-level rise because the polar ice caps of the Earth are melting. we can help by riding bikes instead of using cars and just not to waste electricity.