One of the first things I do each morning is get a fresh cup of coffee that my coffee maker, because of the way I have programmed it, has ready for me. While I drink my coffee, I read over the morning’s news stories. Once I’m done with the news and I’ve poured another cup of coffee, I take my dogs out and listen to an audiobook on my phone while I’m outside with them. If my coffee cools down too much while outside in the cooler weather, I heat it back up in the microwave. Would I have such a pleasant start to my mornings if fossil fuels weren’t in use?
What exactly are fossil fuels? Fossil fuels are fuels (such as coal, oil, or natural gas) formed in the earth from plant or animal remains. We use fossil fuels to keep warm in the winter when temperatures are way too cold to be comfortable without heat. Air conditioners keep us cool during the heat of the summer. Fossil fuels are used to cook our food.
Without fossil fuels, there are many of our modern conveniences that we would have to live without. I wouldn’t have the coffee maker to have my coffee waiting on me each morning. I wouldn’t have a microwave to warm it back up in if it became cold.
The internet wouldn’t be around, so I could forget reading the news while I drank my morning coffee. I couldn’t listen to an audiobook while outside with my dogs. If there weren’t any internet, how would I download the audiobook on my phone? But I wouldn’t have a cell phone, so chances are I wouldn’t even know what an audiobook was.
https://www.facebook.com/OilSandsAction/videos/1058773337581878
A writer who uses a computer to do his writing would be out of luck because fossil fuels are used in making computers, monitors, and keyboards. Any research that needed to be done couldn’t be done on the internet. If computers weren’t around, the internet wouldn’t be either. Documentaries couldn’t be used for research either. Kindles wouldn’t be around to read your books on. E-books wouldn’t be in existence at all.
Fossil fuels are essential to modern life. They are used to keep us warm in the winter, but they also keep us cool during the hot summer. Without fossil fuels, you can forget using your ceiling fan or air conditioner.
Thanksgiving is in just a few days. You probably have a ham and/or a turkey in the freezer ready to thaw for preparation. If it weren’t for fossil fuels though, you wouldn’t have a freezer to keep your ham or turkey in. You wouldn’t have a refrigerator to store your leftovers in either. And I don’t just need my refrigerator and freezer around Thanksgiving; I need them every day of the year.
Until I researched it, I didn’t realize just how vital fossil fuels are to the way we live and how many things we would be without if they weren’t used. I could go on and on about the things we use every day that are made with fossil fuels. Or I could just write out a list of them, but that would be boring, and I really don’t want to bore you. Instead, I’ve provided some videos that will hopefully entertain you while showing just how many things fossil fuels are used to make and maybe even give you some story ideas. Writing prompts are also provided at the end of this article.
Writing Prompts
Now it’s time to put your writing skills to work. There is more than enough information above for many short stories about life in a world without fossil fuels. You could write a story where whatever your character reaches for something made with fossil fuels, it simply disappears. Your character wouldn’t have much left.
Or you could have your character, who is used to modern life, wake up one morning to find that everything made with the use of fossil fuels is gone and no longer available. What is your character’s reaction? Does he figure out how to survive without all the conveniences he is used to?
Write about growing up in a land without fossil fuels. Then have fossil fuels introduced and show how much easier their lives become.
Write a story about making your Thanksgiving dinner without fossil fuels. What did you make? How did you cook it? How long did it take?
