Petrochemicals are chemicals obtained from mainly from petroleum, also called crude oil, as well as from natural gas and coal. Sometimes the definition is broadened to additionally include similar chemicals produced from renewable sources, such as corn and sugar cane. There are numerous varieties of petrochemicals, they are produced in huge volumes, and they are used in a vast array of consumer, industrial, agricultural, medical and other products. The largest use by far is as a fuel, particularly for generating electricity and for powering transportation; another major application is the production of plastics.
The extraction, use, and disposal of petrochemicals is by far the biggest contributor to both environmental pollution and climate change. However, the extraction of petroleum is expected to become increasingly difficult and costly in the future because of the rapid depletion of the cheapest and most easily obtained sources.
For these reasons, much effort has been devoted in recent years in developing technologies and other means to reduce the use of petrochemicals. This is being accomplished largely through the development of alternative energy sources (solar, wind, wave, etc.) and through increases in fuel efficiency. It is also being accomplished through the development of alternative raw materials for replacing plastics and other petrochemicals-derived materials. However, there is a growing consensus among environment experts that progress has been too slow and that it is an urgent matter to dramatically reduce the production and use of petrochemicals as quickly as possible and to simultaneously increase the cleaning up of widespread contamination of land and water that they have caused.