Why Fossil Fuels are Harming Our Planet
Fossil Fueling has benefited humankind for years, and even now, fossil fuels make up about 80% of all the energy we use today. The problem is that not a lot of people care about the detrimental impacts fossil fuels have had on our environment. The biggest problem with fossil fuels is that when they are burned, they release harmful pollutants like carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide and other pollutants cause a large amount of public and environmental damage to local and national health. Burning Fossil Fuels have a wide variety of negative impacts, but the worst is global warming. In 2014, around 78% of global warming was associated with burning fossil fuels. Other energy sources that don’t use fossil fuels such as solar, water, wind, and geothermal energies only resulted in about 1% of all the global warming that has been done. Using fossil fuels pollutes the air, the waters, and even affects humans as well.
Fossil fuels release more than just carbon dioxide when they are burned. Power Plants that depend on coal burnings make up about 48% of global mercury emissions. These kinds of power plants also release about ⅔ of the country’s Sulfur Dioxide. This results in acid rain and the grouping of harmful pollutants. In addition, fossil fuel-powered vehicles cause Nitrogen Oxides to be released into the air. This results in acid rain and smog. Smog can cause diseases like asthma, bronchitis, and other respiratory diseases.
All around the world, the demand for large amounts of energy/power is straining the availability of clean water. Power plants that are powered by fossil fuels and nuclear energy consume an extensive amount of water. Around 80% of this water is collected from lakes and rivers. Whenever we burn fossil fuels we affect the ocean by making it more acidic. The seas have gotten around 30% more acidic than they originally were, since the start of fossil fuel implementation. When power plants return water back to the water sources, the chances are that the water going back out is not safe for our environment. The power plants take in the waters then release the water back into the lakes and rivers. This causes something known as, “Thermal Pollution”. Thermal pollution is when the water goes through the process of “degradation” this is mainly caused by “changes in water temperature”. When the water temperature changes, the general temperature usually goes up. The warmer water has oxygen levels that are lower than usual. The low levels of oxygen impact the ecosystem by causing the native fish population’s average heart rate level to go up. This also leads to lower fertility rates in fishes. The oceans and seas absorb about ¼ of the carbon that is released by man. The more acidic the seas are getting, the more sea creatures are being negatively impacted. Especially, sea animals with shells are vulnerable to acidic waters because the calcium carbonate in their shells will decrease. Calcium carbonate refers to materials that crustaceans use to make their shells. Lower calcium carbonate levels make crustacean cells deteriorate faster.
When you use fossil fuels, they usually have to be purified so that we don’t get sick. However, what happens to the toxins that are removed from the fossil fuels? When power plants use coal the coal is probably cleaned before the coal is used because most coal carries a high level of Sulfur. This means that you have to purify the coal to not get sick while using them. Once the coal is cleaned it is transported. However, the problem is that when the coal is transported, they leave behind a kind of slurry of coal, which contains,” arsenic, mercury, chromium, cadmium, and other heavy metals.” Coal slurry is contained in a “ large reservoir”. There are more than a thousand of these coal slurry reservoirs in the United States alone. If these reservoirs are not carefully observed and maintained,( as there are already a few ) the contents in the reservoirs could leak into the ground eventually reaching a water system. This would cause the water to be unsafe to drink and use for animals and people. The EPA ( Environmental Protection Agency ) has stated that about 50 coal ash have been considered as a “high hazard”. After the coal is burned, the coal leaves 2 different kinds of ash. The ash left behind is called fly ash and bottom ash. When there is fly ash the ash left by burning coal is flying around and unless there is a special equipment to catch that ash, the ash will be considered air pollution. Bottom ash is the ash that is left at the bottom of the furnace. Both of these ash have very high toxin levels.
When fossil fuels like gas and oil are found and are taken they release some water that was trapped within themselves. This water contains harmful chemicals. The companies that purify the oil and gas before actual use store the water. The water is stored in large pits. If any of this water gets released into a water system then the ecosystem will be largely impacted and corrupted. Any oil or grease that goes into the water kills plankton and algae, they could even stick to fish and water birds.
Businesses can prevent and reduce all of this from happening more in the future. If businesses find eco-friendly ways to do their work, they can greatly reduce all these harmful emissions. Businesses can also improve their energy efficiency. Doing this helps reduce green-house emissions and also helps the business’s “bottom line”. They could also buy more renewable energy like solar, wind, and water. We individually can try to converse energy. Turning off the lights, turning off the water while brushing your teeth, taking a shower for only about 5–10 minutes instead of 20 minutes or more. There are a lot of different ways you can conserve energy. While driving a car the car releases nitrogen oxides that harm the environment. So to prevent this you could try to drive less, ride a bike or walk to your destinations.
We can all help save the environment so let’s do it!
Resource Links:
https://www.nrdc.org/stories/fossil-fuels-dirty-facts
Kyle Lee(kylelee.earthminions@gmail.com) is a 5th grader at Bellows Spring Elementary School. He loves to learn about ecosystems and he enjoys being with animals. He is passionate about animal conservation and climate change. In his free time, he enjoys fishing, hiking, and playing with his cats. (Elkridge, MD)
