fossil fuel

noun

1. Any fuel derived from hydrocarbon deposits such as coal, petroleum, natural gas and, to some extent, peat; these fuels are non-renewable, and their burning moves carbon from underground into the atmosphere via the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide.

   “[…]but we also have the technological means and know-how to help free America from the grip of fossil fuels.”

   “Without renewables, we’ll still end up burning (albeit much more efficiently) the same coal and natural gas that we burn today in our power plants and the same fuel oil that we burn in our cars and trucks. And it is precisely these carbon-based fossil fuels that we must distance ourselves from if we really want to come to grips with our dependence on foreign oil and with global warming.”