Nearly two million years ago, our ancestors, the Homo Erectus inaugurated the first known use of fuel combustion. Since then, Mankind has managed to creatively use these natural fossil fuels and resources to great levels of efficiency.  Fuel is any material that stores potential energy and can be used to release heat energy, this energy can be guided for much greater usage. True, without human efficiency and intelligence fuels would be worthless and wasted.  . Nuclear fuels, gaseous fuels, biofuels, liquid fuels are only some examples of the various faction of fuel that exist in our world now.  We have modernized too, with the innumerable factories and plants coming up everywhere in order to fulfill our necessities, these need fuels to function. We need these fuels to function.   However, do we realize that with our unyielding , steady demands for these fuels ,deplete its’ reserves to a limit of exhaustion?

Whatever we are doing to Nature is a mirror reflection of what we are doing to ourselves and each other. Fuel is a major factor in our energy requirement. Petroleum, for example, is the raw material and the main material in many industries. All plastics are made from petroleum by- products, paraffin wax, paints and pharmaceuticals. It’s most common use is to power our automobiles. Coal has many uses worldwide. In electricity generation, coal has proved to be an important aspect as it cuts down costs. It is also used heavily in steel production, cement manufacturing and as liquid fuel. Coal, in not only the high level manufacturing, but also in rural areas where no other fuel is available and as cost effective, has proved to be an asset.  Methane, which is a biogas comprising of hydrocarbons,  is a very powerful fuel. It is the main ingredient in natural gas also. It is used to burn landfills, filled with garbage, and to produce electricity. These are only a few examples of how effective these fuels have been.
Fuels take millions of years to form. Millions. Fuels are formed through a long process, of compression of natural sources like trees and aquatic animals like planktons under high pressure and temperature over a period of more than million years. And look, how absolutely recklessly we exploit these gifts of nature? We are , after all,  forces of Nature. We must learn to respect gifts.  Every automobile that is bought adds to the degradation of fuels, our gasoline consumption is going up every year. With increasing modernization, life is becoming hard without fuels.
We all know the common ways to conserve fuel. Encourage car pooling, maintain tire pressure.  Do keep a check on the gasoline consumption rate, use air conditioners sparingly. Reduce your use of plastics.  Make installing solar panels a new trend. So much to do, so little time.  Can we all start caring now , finally?

As Mahatma Gandhi had quoted,

“The Earth provides enough  for every man’s need, not every man’s greed”