Firefox causes surge on MacBook CPU

hi:
this problem been going on for at least 3 months so it is cross version of Firefox as I've updated recently to 17.
after a while, I think it's 1.5-2hr if I've been surfing .. doing stuff on MacBook.. andcfirefox been open entire time
I hear the CPU do a surge and stay at it this higher CPU.
last night I worked out it was purely Firefox. I closed Firefox down and within 1-2min.. CPU was back to normal. no heavy sound of processing
my MacBook Pro is only 1 year old. so it's app issue not hardware.
last night I retested this three times
first time / only Firefox open
second time / Firefox and Opera
third time / Firefox / opera and mail
all three times when closed Firefox CPU went back to normal.
tonight I will turn off all addons to double check they are not cause. I think I've did that and still CPU usage surge. but will double check to be absolutely sure.
Firefox I use extensively
I have
1 one window with 15 tabs for stuff I'm researching and currently working on
each tab is simple site eg amazon book page
2 another window with my ACTION tabs. typically 4-5 open
"so my question is"
1 what is suggested troubleshoot steps to work out which part of the Firefox solution is causing my CPU usage
2 what are common things to check with CPU surges?
thankyou in advance

many thanks
for quick glance - i have none of the "baddies"
will go thru article very methodically...
i notice the CPU goes up to 500 regularly.
today i ha activity monitor showing to see how often it surged
5 times in 1 day

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