Alternative fules-----history Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Alternative fules-----history - Assignment Example e early 19th century petroleum, became an alternative option to whale oil that was initially used by people in lighting lamps and it led to the death of large number of whales in the oceans. The dawn of the 20th century was marked by the appearance of ethanol as the alternative to gasoline. The rise in the alternative fuel sources came due to the ever increasing demand for more environmental friendly fuels. The traditional fuels were mainly from natural resources such as those from fossil fuels that included oil, gas and coal and they were diminishing at a very high rate. This led to the constant increase in the price level of fuels as well as increased dependency by the world’s leading economies. The negative impacts of the continued use of non-renewable energy sources has been witnessed in the world by the occurrence of global warming, depletion of the ozone layer due to the increased emission of greenhouse gases emitted in the process of burning fossil fuels. Increased air pollution as well as soil erosion have been attributed to the use of fossil fuels. These factors triggered the need for alternative sources of fuel so as to reduce environmental degradation. Human beings have increasingly realized their mistakes as far as energy is concerned and they have b egun to come up with alternative fuels that are friendly to the environment. Examples of alternative fuels that have been introduced in the recent past include wind and solar energy that are not depleted and their continued use does not cause harm to either human beings or other living things. The use of fossil fuels have been an ongoing process and has been an essential source of energy since humans first discovered coal. From Neolithic times to the eighteenth century, humans made only minor improvements to coal and wood-burning technology. The steam engines that were invented in the 1700s were the first machines to use fossil fuels to power mechanical processes. By the year 1802, many cities in the