Why do they call it fossil fuel?

The reason they're called fossil fuels is actually a bit strange. Fossils are mineralized remains of ancient plants and animals. They're our primary way of studying life forms that lived millions of years ago. But actual fossils have nothing to do with any of the fuels. read more

The term 'fossil fuel' is a bit of a misnomer. It refers to fuels that come from ancient life forms that lived long ago (on the order of millions of years) and have remained in the ground for eons, which we're now burning. read more

Fossil fuels are found within the Earth's crust. They are combustible, meaning they can burn, and it is through combustion that their energy is released. Fossil fuels power modern day society, meeting energy demands for commercial manufacturing, transportation, electricity and even steam generation. read more

Finally the miners drill it out and sell them to factories which add other chemicals to create petroleum, oil and other gases that they need. This entire process takes about 1 to 2 million years, the drilling takes about 3-10 years and they go 1800 meters under the ground. This oil is usually found in America, Australia and Africa. read more

They are called fossil fuels because, like fossils, they were formed a long time ago. Oil for example is a fossil fuel, it was formed millions of years ago as dead animals and plants died they formed a layer of dead stuff. read more

Fuels can take many forms and in the case of fossil fuels we use the remains of long dead organisms to produce this energy. Petroleum, coal, and natural gas are all formed from the corpses of ancient plants, animals, and more commonly microbial life. read more