Society's heavy dependence on fossil fuels to meet its demands for technological energy has led to several serious problems. In the first place, fossil fuel deposits are not geographically distributed in harmony with the distribution of the people who use them. This leads to a plethora of economic and geopolitical problems. Secondly, the use of fossil fuels leads to pollution of the environment. Stored energy is recovered from carbon-based fuels by combustion, which generates carbon dioxide; this greenhouse gas contributes to global climate change. Extraction of fossil fuels can also lead to pollution in the form of oil spills, damage from mining operations, etc. Finally, fossil fuel use is not sustainable. Petroleum deposits will be exhausted in some decades. Deposits of coal, natural gas, and other carbonaceous materials could supply energy for several hundred years, and while this may provide solace for those of us currently alive, human civilization has existed for thousands of years, and most of us hope it will continue for many thousands more. Continuance will require an alternative energy source.
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