Coal, oil and gas power most of the modern world, but few of us stop to think about what they actually are: the buried, transformed remains of living things from unimaginably long ago. This episode traces where fossil fuels come from, why they pack such a punch, and the fundamental trade-off at the heart of using them.

You’ll come away understanding how fossil fuels formed over deep time, why they store so much energy, why they’re called “ancient sunlight”, and why the very thing that makes them so useful is also what makes them a problem.

Talking Science is sponsored by Kinsoft. Visit www.kinsoft.com.au

Further reading: US Energy Information Administration – “Fossil fuels explained”; Geoscience Australia – energy resources; Vaclav Smil, Energy and C ...