less demand for fuel, which drives the price lower.
LAW OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND
The law of supply and demand is the theory that explains the interaction
between the supply of a resource and the demand for that resource. It also
defines the effect the availability of a particular product and the desire (or
demand) for that product has on price. Generally, a low supply and a high
demand increases the price, while in contrast, a greater supply and a lower
demand causes the price to fall.Nonrenewable Energy Sources
A nonrenewable resource is a resource of economic value that cannot be readily
replaced by natural means on a level equal to its consumption. Most fossil fuels,
such as oil, natural gas, and coal, are considered nonrenewable resources in that
their use is not sustainable because their formation takes billions of years.
In the United States, most of the current energy demand comes from
nonrenewable energy sources such as coal, natural gas, petroleum, propane, and
uranium. These energy sources are called nonrenewable because their supplies
are limited. Recent increases in the domestic production of oil and natural gas,
due largely to fracking and increases in offshore drilling, has increased the
supply and lowered the price of these commodities.
Arguments used to defend the continued use of fossil fuels include:
■ Abundant supply, resulting in relatively low prices for consumers
■ Infrastructure already in place for extraction, processing, and delivery
■ Politics (e.g., fear of losing existing jobs or concerns over unemployed
coal miners)
■ Concentrated fuel with a high net-energy yield
■ Technology already exists for their use (e.g., internal combustion engines
running on gasoline)
COAL
Coal is produced by the decomposition of ancient (approximately 286 million