Fossil fuels or mineral fuels are hydrocarbons found within the top layer of the earth's crust. They range from very volatile materials with low carbon:hydrogen ratios like methane, to liquid petroleum to nonvolatile materials composed of almost pure carbon, like anthracite coal. It is generally accepted that they formed from the fossilized remains of dead plants and animals[1] by exposure to heat and pressure in the Earth's crust over hundreds of millions of years[2]. This is known as the biogenic theory and was first introduced by Mikhail Lomonosov in 1757. There is an opposing theory that the more volatile hydrocarbons, especially natural gas, are formed by abiogenic processes, that is no living material was involved in their formation.
It was estimated that in 2004 86% of human-produced energy came from burning fossil fuels.[3]
Fossil fuels take millions of years to form and reserves are being depleted much faster than new ones are being formed and so are non-renewable......
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