Energy Sources 

We get the energy we use on a daily basis from different sources. They are divided into two main groups – renewable (an energy source that we can use over and over again) and non-renewable (an energy source that once used up cannot be replaced in a short period of time). 

Non-renewable Energy  

Most of the energy we use comes from fossil fuels such as gas, oil, peat, coal and petrol. This energy is used every day in homes, businesses, schools and for travel. Millions of years ago energy from the sun was absorbed by plants, some of which were eaten by animals. When the animals and plants died, they were covered with mud and waste and became part of the earth’s crust. For millions of years, they were squeezed together and heated from the centre of the earth until they turned into the fossil fuels that we use today. Crude oil (petroleum) is a naturally liquid fossil fuel, natural gas and propane are normally gases, and coal is a solid. Coal, oil, natural gas, and propane are all considered fossil fuels. Peat, a ‘young’ fossil fuel that takes several thousand years to mature, is also an important non-renewable energy source in Ireland. We turn some of these fuels into electricity to light and heat buildings and to heat water. A lot of appliances in our homes need electricity to work. 

Burning fossil fuels produces carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is one of the greenhouse gases which are causing climate change. Greenhouse gases cause the earth to heat up by trapping the sun’s heat in the earth’s atmosphere. Climate change is causing the earth to become warmer.