Fair shares
Some people are very greedy and want more than their fair share of everything. So they grab it, leaving little or nothing for anyone else. Many people in rich countries use much more energy than is sensible or fair. Fossil fuels will run out completely quite soon but before they do, the damage to the Earth’s climate will have been done.

How long can fossil fuels last?
Coal is–unfortunately because it is the most polluting fuel–plentiful. Oil production may have peaked but nobody knows for sure. Natural gas is abundant and 'fracking' (I've written a guide about this) allows energy companies to get at much more gas from shales buried deep underground. Gas is the least polluting fuel because it contains 4 hydrogen atoms for every carbon. This means that when it burns, it produces less CO₂ per unit of heat than oil or coal.

What you can do
But wait a moment. That doesn’t mean you’ve all got to grow fur or feathers. You, your friends and families could do lots to make things better:

Get to be energy-aware! Try to save as much as you can by not driving around, flying and having the heating or air conditioning turned up so high. People can also save a lot by making clever buildings which can make their own energy and don't waste the energy they do use. Insulation isn't very exciting but it's the quickest, cheapest and best way to save energy in homes, schools and offices. Most buildings don't have proper insulation but there are simple ways to add it which not only means warmer (or cooler if you live in a hot place) buildings. Because much less energy is needed, you save lots of money: energy is getting very expensive to buy Retrofit 'Retrofitting' means adding insulation to an older building which has none. It's usually easy to add thick loft insulation, but if a house has solid walls, these have to be lined (either inside or outside). The ideal is to build new houses with the very best insulation but there are millions of older houses which can be retrofitted to make them much more energy-efficient.
Use your own energy to do things - cycling, walking, running, cooking. If you’re cold , wear more clothes! How to stay warm If you're cold, instead of turning up the heating, wear warm clothes and do something vigorous like running. Using your muscles generates heat and helps keep you slim and fit too! It's a no-brainer, don't you think? ;)
find out more about renewable energy and pester parents and friends to get involved in using these or in trying to get something going where you live. And since energy use and climate change are connected, take a look at my Twelve Really Important Things you can do to help stop global warming

I'm off to catch a fish for my dinner. I'll be walking (okay, waddling!) and then swimming to do that, not jumping in a car. What will you be doing? I hope that whatever you do, you'll think carefully about it first.

Why?

Because how you choose to use energy affects all life on Earth so please think before you use energy and think about what sort of energy you use. Anything which uses fossil fuel is bad news for the planet.

Want to find out more? Visit my Energy links page by clicking here.

Bye!

	If you've found my Energy Guide useful, please would you be kind enough to make a donation to help run my website. I know you kids don't have credit cards or anything but perhaps you could persuade either your parents or your school to make a donation. It's so easy and you can do it here.