Reference Terms
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Fossil fuel
Fossil fuels are hydrocarbons, primarily coal, fuel oil or natural gas, formed from the remains of dead plants and animals. In common dialogue, the term fossil fuel also includes hydrocarbon-containing natural resources that are not derived from animal or plant sources. These are sometimes known instead as mineral fuels. The utilization of fossil fuels has enabled large-scale industrial development and largely supplanted water-driven mills, as well as the combustion of wood or peat for heat. Fossil fuel is a general term for buried combustible geologic deposits of organic materials, formed from decayed plants and animals that have been converted to crude oil, coal, natural gas, or heavy oils by exposure to heat and pressure in the earth's crust over hundreds of millions of years. The burning of fossil fuels by humans is the largest source of emissions of carbon dioxide, which is one of the greenhouse gases that allows radiative forcing and contributes to global warming. A small portion of hydrocarbon-based fuels are biofuels derived from atmospheric carbon dioxide, and thus do not increase the net amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
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Earth & Climate News
November 13, 2026
Nov. 11, 2026 The Antarctic ozone hole expanded to its seventh-largest size on record in 2026, driven by unusual weather conditions that pushed it close to its historic maximum. Scientists say international restrictions on ozone-destroying chemicals prevented ...
Nov. 10, 2026 Global fossil fuel emissions are projected to fall in 2026 as renewable energy and electric vehicles gain ground, but rising emissions from deforestation threaten to push total CO2 emissions to a new ...
Nov. 8, 2026 Scientists have discovered that the stickiness of underwater “marine snow” plays a surprisingly important role in how much carbon reaches the deep ocean. Gooier particles resist bacterial ...
Nov. 7, 2026 Humans collectively produce more than 2 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide annually just by turning food into energy, a 74% increase over three decades largely driven by population growth. Unlike ...
Nov. 6, 2026 Scientists have solved a mystery surrounding destructive beetles attacking blueberry bushes in North Carolina, identifying a species whose massive larvae can grow up to five inches long and destroy plant roots. Although farmers have reported damage ...
Oct. 29, 2026 Earth is warming faster than ever recorded, with scientists detecting a major acceleration in global temperatures since around 2015. A new study reveals that the warming rate has surged to approximately 0.35°C per decade, nearly double the average ...
Oct. 29, 2026 Ancient ice discovered high in Tibet may be more than 128,000 years old, preserving an extraordinary record of Earth's climate that scientists previously thought had been lost. The discovery reveals a rare glimpse into the last ice age and could ...
Oct. 28, 2026 Scientists have uncovered a surprising connection between Earth's opposite poles that may help explain how the planet plunged into past ice ages. New research suggests that as massive ice sheets expanded across the Northern Hemisphere, they cooled ...
Oct. 28, 2026 Antarctica’s Thwaites Glacier may be melting twice as much as previously predicted, even without additional global warming. Scientists discovered that warm ocean water is penetrating miles beneath ...
Oct. 26, 2026 Arctic winter sea ice could disappear much faster than scientists previously expected, according to new research using climate clues from 6,000 years ago. By comparing ancient ocean sediments with modern climate models, researchers found that future ...
Oct. 23, 2026 Switzerland’s glaciers are disappearing at an alarming rate, losing more than 5% of their ice volume in 2026 alone. Some of the country’s most famous glaciers experienced their worst melting on record, while several smaller glaciers vanished ...
Oct. 22, 2026 Forty years after the Chornobyl disaster, tiny radioactive particles still linger in the soil, carrying a dangerous legacy. Using powerful X-rays, scientists discovered that some of these particles have remained surprisingly stable, trapping ...
Latest Headlines
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Nov. 13, 2026 Why do some volcanoes erupt with spectacular lava fountains while others release lava more quietly? Scientists have discovered that a hidden effect of extreme heat inside magma may help explain the ...
Nov. 13, 2026 The massive solar storm that illuminated skies worldwide in May 2024 has uncovered an unexpected twist: Earth's own atmosphere may have helped make the storm so powerful. Satellite measurements ...
Nov. 12, 2026 A sweeping analysis of 540 million years of marine fossils has revealed surprising gaps in our understanding of Earth's ancient life. Scientists ...
Nov. 10, 2026 A century-old theory about the origins of life on Earth may be wrong. New research from the University of Cambridge suggests that comets traveled too ...
Nov. 7, 2026 Scientists have uncovered evidence that Europe was dominated for more than 20 million years by open woodlands, colorful meadows, and large grazing animals, not the dense forests long considered its ...
Nov. 2, 2026 NASA satellites have captured an eerie, skull-shaped formation on a remote Antarctic island, but its haunting appearance conceals a troubling warning about melting glaciers. Unusually warm winter ...
Oct. 30, 2026 Scientists may have solved a 66-million-year-old mystery: how crocodiles survived the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs. A sweeping analysis of fossils and ancient climates suggests that their ...
Oct. 28, 2026 Scientists have discovered that magma deep inside Earth can store surprising amounts of extra oxygen, potentially revealing a hidden contributor to our planet's oxygen-rich atmosphere. The findings ...
Oct. 28, 2026 Scientists have uncovered a long-lost volcanic system in Iran that dates back roughly 100 million years, revealing a hidden chapter in Earth's tectonic history. The discovery sheds new light on the ...
Oct. 26, 2026 A solar eclipse recorded more than 2,700 years ago is revealing surprising secrets about Earth's rotation and the Sun's ancient behavior. By ...