Final answer:
The correct answer is d. Fossil fuels, which are not a potentially renewable or non-depletable energy source, unlike geothermal, solar, and wind energy which are renewable.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question asks which of the following is NOT an example of a potentially renewable or non-depletable energy source:
- Geothermal energy
- Solar energy
- Wind energy
- Fossil fuels
The correct answer is d. Fossil fuels. Unlike geothermal, solar, and wind energy, fossil fuels are not renewable; they cannot be replenished within a human timescale because they take millions of years to form naturally from the buried biomass of past geological eras.
Renewable energy sources, on the other hand, are replenished naturally on a human timescale. Forms of renewable energy include solar, wind, and geothermal. These energy sources come from ongoing natural processes like sunlight, wind, and the heat from the earth's core.