Back to the Future
There is another problem with fossil fuels. Remember, they are a nonrenewable energy source. Experts say the world's fossil fuel supplies are dwindling. They could be gone within the next 50 to 100 years, maybe sooner. Where will our energy come from then?
If fossil fuels are an energy source soon to be in our past, then biofuels may be the fuels of the future. Biofuels, however, are by no means new; people have used them for thousands of years.
Fuel for Thought
As demand for fossil fuels increase and supplies become scarce, prices rise. Fossil fuels are no longer the bargain they once were.
Long ago, primitive people discovered the energy in fire. They found that burning wood created heat. They used the heat to cook food, stay warm, and to fend off wild animals.
Wood is a type of biomass. Wood was the first widely used biofuel. Since trees grew nearly everywhere, wood became our first and biggest source of heat energy. It remained that way for thousands of years.
Fuel for Thought
In the United States, wood is no longer a major source of biomass fuel. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, wood provides only about two percent of America's energy needs.