Question

Why do we need to use coal and petroleum judiciously? Give two points.

Answer 1

Hint: Coal and petroleum have to be conserved because Coal and petroleum take millions of years for their formation. If the resources are being utilized at a much faster rate than their formation, they will be exhausted in the near future.

Complete Answer:
- Coal and petroleum have been produced from large amounts of biomass entrapped inside the earth under high temperature, pressure, and anaerobic conditions. Such a situation develops only rarely like big upheavals on earth.
- At present no more coal or petroleum is being formed. All that is available has been formed millions of years ago. Being a rich source of energy, coal and petroleum are being consumed in the ever-increasing amounts in the industry, transport, kitchens, etc.

- If the trend continues, soon they will be exhausted. Therefore, they must be conserved by developing more efficient machines, hybrid engines, and using hydrogen as a fuel. It is correct that both these natural resources, coal, and petroleum are produced by biodegradation of plants and animal wastes, but it takes thousands of years for their formation.
- This is the reason we need to conserve them for our future generations, as we are using them at a much faster rate compared to the rate at which these are formed.

- We should use them judiciously because-
They are an important source of fuel. Petroleum products like petrol, diesel, etc. are used as fuel in automobiles.
Coal is used in thermal power plants to generate electricity and also used as fuel for domestic purposes.

Note: Burning of these fuels causes pollution, global warming so we should use them wisely.