குழந்தைகளும் காலநிலை பிறழ்வும்

Life needs energy. Mostly it will be food for animals, which is produced by plants for themselves and most other life forms.

But modern humans need a different kind of energy to live. It is necessary for them to lead a normal, comfortable life and it is not food. Food is secondary when compared to the energy needed for daily life or economy.

Human life is centered around the energy derived from fossil fuels (coal, petroleum, natural gas)

Petroleum is formed from the remains of ancient marine plants and animals that lived millions of years ago. The sun’s energy is what allowed these organisms to grow and thrive through photosynthesis, which is the process by which they convert sunlight into energy.

As these organisms grew, they captured carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and stored energy in their cells, while releasing oxygen and reducing the temperature of earth.

When these organisms died and accumulated on the ocean floor, they were buried under layers of sediment. The heat and pressure from the Earth’s crust over millions of years caused the organic material to undergo chemical changes, breaking down complex molecules into simpler hydrocarbons, which make up petroleum. When compressed further, it becomes natural gas.

Oldest oil formed from the decayed remains of organisms that lived 1.4 billion years ago, when the earth was young.

Half of the world’s oil production comes from sediments deposited between 350 million years and 1.8 million years ago. That period was warm, carbon di oxide level was close to 700 Ppm and earth had a single continent, Pangaea surrounded by huge ocean. Earth was covered in wide, shallow seas and dense forests with huge trees.

During this period, Pangaea started breaking up and life exploded with huge trees, ferns, bushes and animals.dinosaurs evolved, birds and mammals started appearing on earth. This biodiverse ecosystem reduced carbon di oxide in the atmosphere and the earth started cooling down.

With multiple continental breakups and mass extinction events, most of marine life died and ended up as petroleum.

The seas occasionally flooded the forested areas, trapping plants and algae at the bottom of a swampy wetland. Over time, the plants (mostly mosses) and algae were buried and compressed under the weight of overlying mud and vegetation.

The huge trees produced lignin to get their structure and strength during this period. These trees, after dying were not decomposed by bacteria and fungi because they could not decompose lignin.

As the plant debris sifted deeper under Earth’s surface, it encountered increased temperatures and higher pressure. Mud and acidic underground water prevented the plant matter from coming into contact with oxygen. Due to this, the plant matter decomposed at a very slow rate and retained most of its carbon, which we today use as coal.

Soon dropping temperature, extreme climate, extra terrestrial events killed most of life on land.

It turns out that the solar energy captured for billions of years by life through photosynthesis has been stored deep under earth as coal, petroleum and natural gas. This process also reduced carbon content in the atmosphere and cooled earth. Earth has about 1.9 × 1016 ton of fossil fuels.

Earliest humans evolved around 2 lakh years ago.
Earliest known oil well was drilled in China in 347 AD.

Archeological evidence in China indicates surface mining of coal and household usage after approximately 3490 BC.

The first modern oil well drilled was in the town of La Brea, Trinidad in 1857. The first modern oil well in America was drilled by Edwin Drake in Titusville, Pennsylvania in 1859.

First modern coal mine was built in 1575, Scotland, United Kingdom.

Almost 2,500 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide (GtCO₂) has been emitted into the atmosphere from fossil fuel combustion and land-use change since 1850.

At the same time, forests were cleared for mines, farming, cattle, roads, railways and urbanization. This resulted in more carbon staying in the air than on the ground, affecting natural carbon cycle.

Billions of tons of carbon locked away deep inside earth for millions of years to keep the climate cool was burnt within 200 years. Carbon di oxide level is increasing exponentially in the atmosphere and it is at 423 Ppm in August, 2023 . Stable climate needs 280 Ppm.

This means earth temperature will increase sharply, stable climate will disappear and collapse of civilization is not a question of if but when.

It might happen sooner than predicted.

To escape this dilemma, scientists have up with a solution: make a miniature sun with nuclear fusion, which does not emit pollution and lasts forever.

To achieve this goal, expeditions are sent to moon and mars to extract Helium3, strontium, neodymium and more. Just a small problem there. The temperature in the Sun’s core is about 15 million degrees Celsius. What material can handle this heat, maintain it and deliver it as humans need?

Scientists are working hard on improving technology rather than working on science. Count on them to save you.