Final answer:
Fossil fuels such as coal and crude oil, are nonrenewable energy sources found within the Earth. Petroleum is a key type of fossil fuel used mainly for transportation and is depleting rapidly compared to the rate of formation. Coal is more abundant and primarily used for electricity generation.
Step-by-step explanation:
Everything contained in the earth or found in the sea, such as coal and crude oil, refers to natural resources, particularly fossil fuels like petroleum, which is a naturally occurring nonrenewable liquid fossil fuel found in reservoirs and rocks below Earth's surface. These resources have formed over millions of years and are used by humans as primary energy sources. However, they are being consumed at a much faster rate than they are replenished, with estimates suggesting petroleum reserves may be exhausted in about 60 years and natural gas supplies in about 120 years.
Coal, in contrast, accounts for more than 90% of the world's fossil fuel reserves and is mainly used for electricity generation, while petroleum, also known as crude oil, is primarily used as a transportation fuel and in the manufacturing of plastics and synthetic compounds.
Huge environmental impacts, such as those witnessed with the Deepwater Horizon Oil Rig disaster, accompany the extraction and use of these fuels, as do geopolitical and economic implications, especially in regions rich in these resources like Alberta, Canada, and countries with large oil reserves such as Saudi Arabia.