Fossil Fuels

Imagine being asleep for so long that when you finally wake up, the whole world is new. For millions and millions of years, I was sleeping deep under the ground, holding a secret. I am made of sunshine that was soaked up by ancient plants and tiny sea creatures long before the dinosaurs ever stomped the Earth. Back then, during a time called the Carboniferous Period about 300 million years ago, the world was a warm, swampy place filled with giant ferns as tall as houses and dragonflies the size of birds. All that sunshine energy was packed away inside the plants and animals, and when they were buried, I was born. I am the energy that slept for ages. You can call me Fossil Fuels.

For a long, long time, I was a secret hidden in the ground. Then, people started finding me. Around 1000 BCE, people in ancient China discovered a piece of me, a black rock they called coal. They were curious, so they put it in a fire and realized it could burn for a very long time, keeping them warm and helping them cook. But my big moment came much, much later, when people started building amazing new machines. This time was called the Industrial Revolution, and it started around the 1760s. I was the perfect snack for their new inventions. I powered huge steam engines that made factories whir and trains chug-chug-chug across the land, carrying people and things farther than ever before. Then, my cousin, oil, was discovered. On August 27th, 1859, a man named Edwin Drake drilled into the ground and found this gooey, black liquid. Soon, clever people figured out that oil could be used to make gasoline, which powered the first cars and even airplanes that could soar through the sky like metal birds.

Today, I am still hard at work all around you. I help make the electricity that turns on your lights, powers your computer, and keeps your food cold in the refrigerator. I have helped people do so many wonderful things. But using all of my stored-up sunshine energy can make the air a little messy and warm up the Earth. The amazing thing is, I taught people how powerful energy could be. Now, I get to watch as they invent new, cleaner ways to power their world. They are learning to use the sunshine from today with solar panels and the power of the wind with giant windmills. I showed them what was possible, and now I am so excited to see what amazing new ideas they come up with to build a cleaner, brighter future for everyone.