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The circle of life (lemmy.world)
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[-] Slovene@feddit.nl 102 points 3 months ago

Ackchually, oil is mostly from plant matter.

[-] dohpaz42@lemmy.world 53 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

TIL

Does Oil Come From Dinosaur Fossils?

It’s a commonly spread fiction that oil comes from dinosaurs because when people hear fossils, their brains immediately jump to dinosaurs. However, that’s not the case.

The truth may be less exciting to some, but oil and other fossil fuels are not actually formed from the remains of dinosaurs. The oil we’re drilling and pumping to the surface as fuel is formed from diatoms, small organisms such as algae and bacteria that lived long before dinosaurs even existed. Source

[-] tobogganablaze@lemmus.org 28 points 3 months ago
[-] dohpaz42@lemmy.world 8 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

We need to induct Randal into the wholesome four at some point.

Edit: typo

[-] gnutrino@programming.dev 9 points 3 months ago

Induct? Or has he committed a crime I'm not aware of?

[-] dohpaz42@lemmy.world 5 points 3 months ago

The crime of being wholesome and helping other people!!

Ok, autocorrect hates me. Thanks for pointing that out.

[-] essell@lemmy.world 10 points 3 months ago

I am under the impression that's coal.

Oil is from sea life. Though I did read that in the 80s so entirely possible its nonsense.

[-] MentalEdge@sopuli.xyz 16 points 3 months ago

Yes and no. They're both hydrocarbons.

Coal is organic matter from dry land, so typically plants.

Oil is from organic matter that fell to the ocean floor, so microbial life, algae and the like.

But both are from and end up as the same types of organic molecules. Carbon and hydrogen.

Wow ok that's cool.. so then every* oil well is in a place that historically was underwater?

[-] Cornelius_Wangenheim@lemmy.world 9 points 3 months ago

Yes, specifically shallow seas that are so rich that they go anoxic. Without oxygen, the organisms don't break down and just accumulate.

[-] JasonDJ@lemmy.zip 7 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

Can Texas just go back to being a shallow anoxic sea?

Please?

[-] MentalEdge@sopuli.xyz 7 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

Yes. A lot of such places are still below the seabed, hence off-shore oil-rigs.

[-] grandkaiser@lemmy.world 3 points 3 months ago

Nah, coal is plant matter too.

[-] Zorsith@lemmy.blahaj.zone 9 points 3 months ago

Trees from before anything existed that could break down wood

[-] essell@lemmy.world 1 points 3 months ago

Yeah, that's what I said!

[-] Piemanding@sh.itjust.works 2 points 3 months ago

I guess algae and bacteria are close to plants.

[-] essell@lemmy.world 3 points 3 months ago

How close? Like cousins or Alabama cousins?

[-] Piemanding@sh.itjust.works 4 points 3 months ago

Louisiana cousins I believe.

[-] xx3rawr@sh.itjust.works 3 points 3 months ago

Not really, especially in this science sub

[-] Akareth@lemmy.world 9 points 3 months ago

And non-plants like algae and bacteria.

this post was submitted on 12 Jul 2024
819 points (96.4% liked)

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