Day 1: The Basics of Fossil Fuels

As there is a mountain of information that could be considered "the basics of fossil fuels" this post will evolve as I collect more information.

Fossil fuels are hydrocarbon deposits formed from living matter of a previous geologic time. Fossil fuels include natural gas, petroleum and coal. Much of the fossil fuels used today were deposited in the geologic period called the Carboniferious (also known as Mississippian and Pennsylvanian) roughly 345 to 280 million years ago.

Fossil fuels are the principal energy source in the United States and in many other places in the world. These fuels are essentially stored solar energy that produce great amounts of energy. In combusting fossil fuels their energy is released to power homes, cars and more. Fossil fuels also are used in the production of plastics, chemicals, and more. However, there is a finite supply of this valuble resource.

Sources
The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language 4th Edition. 2000. Houghton Mifflin Co
Keller, E. A. 2000. Environmental Geology 8th Edition. Prentice Hall