Plants knowledge
Plants as energy source
At present, a large part of man’s energy requirements is covered by products of vegetal origin. Fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas) have formed from the partial decomposition of organisms – mainly vegetal – that lived over one hundred millions years ago (see the Section on ENERGY). When petrol burns in a car engine or methane burns in the kitchen stove, some of the solar energy trapped by the plants in distant times through photosynthesis is released. Talking of fuels, let’s not forget firewood, which now is no longer used in industrialised countries, but which in developing countries is still one of the main energy sources for the home (cooking and heating).
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