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Alternative sources to fossil fuel to avoid energy crices
The impact of fossil fuels on our Planet
The impact of fossil fuels on our Planet
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Fossil fuels are natural fuels that are derived from the remains of living organisms and are a major energy source in the world. These fuels include coal, oil, and natural gas which are not renewable; they cannot be synthetically created or manufactured. Once they are used, it will be another million years to refill what the humans have used up. Although natural fuels are popular, they have many drawbacks. The consumption of fossil fuels have led to the greenhouse effect – the damage to the earth. However, there are alternate sources of power to decrease the amount of carbon gasses released into the atmosphere. These energy sources beneficial to the environment and difficult to control.
Fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gases are
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This term is used to describe the heating of the atmosphere because of the large presence of carbon gasses from fossil fuels. The increase in the average temperature of the earth is leading to a process known as global warming. The intensified rays of the sun is killing plankton, which is food for a vast amount of marine life. It is also melting ice caps in the oceans which is raising the sea level. Fossil fuels such as coal and oil are used on a large basis to produce electricity for living and energy for locomotion. The carbon dioxide produced by these running vehicles are one of the main contributors to the greenhouse effect. Landfills and dumps with garbage produce vast amounts of carbon dioxide among other gasses. Deforestation removes the trees that take in carbon dioxide and convert it to oxygen. Another cause of the greenhouse effect is the increased population. There are more people using fossil fuels to power machinery or buildings which has absolutely amplified the release of carbon gasses into the …show more content…
Solar, wind, and tidal energy is often used in replace of fossil fuels and are most popular because they are renewable. The energy will never run out and can produce a constant energy supply. The energy is also cheaper and more economically sound. The solar, wind, and tidal energy sources are environmentally beneficial because they produce lower carbon levels, does not contribute to the greenhouse effect, and are usually energy saving. However, the alternate energy is not always dependable. It relies upon the weather, and if the required weather isn’t available or produced, there will be no energy made. The energy is also difficult to generate in large quantities. There are not enough facilities, such as wind farms or solar panels, to match up with the developing demand for renewable energy. The large quantities of energy that is produced requires large regions of land for the energy plants to be placed. The plants also have a large capital cost, need to be maintained and require careful planning which is not feasible for many
The emission of carbon dioxide has contributed to 80% to the heating of the earth atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is produced due the burning of fossil fuels such as natural gas, coal and oil. The burning of fossil fuel is very important in our society today, because it is used for cooking, used to produce electricity, for heating, for cooling and also for transportation. The industrialization has led to the use of fossil fuel for running machines and driving cars. The building of fossil fuel contributes towards 80-90% of the carbon dioxide we find in our atmosphere today. When the ecosystems are altered and vegetation is either burned or took out, the carbon stored in them is relinquished to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide (What causes global climate change, 2005). Methane is another gas being produced in the process which all have served to increase the greenhouse effect in our atmosphere. Methane is produced from the cultivation of rice, from the burning of coal and from cattle, it has increased by 145% due to human
Gloria Reuben once stated, “Mother Nature's mercy and forgiveness have run dry, as we ceaselessly abuse her and take her for granted in order for us to continue our addiction to using fossil fuels.” Reuben is suggesting that the addiction to burning fossil fuels abuses nature consistently and humans take our natural resources for granted. The world has a heavy dependency upon fossil fuels such as oil, methane, coal, gas and petroleum. As population and industry grows and reliance on these non-renewable energy sources multiplies, how are fossil fuels negatively impacting Earth? The adverse effects of fossil fuels is staggering. Fossil fuels are responsible for human fatalities, gargantuan environmental risks and environmental hazards. Stepping toward renewable energy resources and cutting fossil fuel emissions creates a greener, cleaner and safer planet for all.
When people burn fossil fuels to accumulate and produce energy a substance called carbon is produced. Carbon is released into the air in a form known as carbon dioxide. Carbon moves throughout the biosphere on the planet as it is recycled and reused. Carbon exists in the earth’s atmosphere in two common forms which are methane and carbon monoxide. These gases absorb and retain heat in a process known as the greenhouse effect. The Planets natural greenhouse effect makes life possible by regulating our temperature. It turns out that adding too much to the greenhouse effect can have horrible consequences on the environment. Each year, five and a half billion tons of carbon is released by burning fossil fuels and of that three billion tons enters the atmosphere. The remaining carbon usually gets absorbed by the oceans.
Greenhouse gas is a type of gas in atmosphere which absorb and emit radiation.Certain gases will block by atmosphere when escaping from the Earth and keeping the Earth warm.Therefore,this process is called Greenhouse Effect .The primary gases in the Earth are water vapour , carbon dioxide , methane , nitrous oxide and chlorofluorocarbons etc.However,human activities are changing the natural greenhouse.According to the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report issued on 2 February 2007 , it can be observed that there was a significant increase in globally averaged temperatures since the mid-20th century .One of the reason is the industrial revolution ,the develop...
Over the last two centuries, humanity has become increasingly reliant on fossil fuels. Over that time, the consequences of constantly burning fossil fuels have accumulated into a threat to industrialized cities. The burning of fossil fuels causes acid rain to shower on cities and ecosystems around the world, tormenting their inhabitants. The increasingly deadly pollution caused by the burning of fossil fuels has caused the deaths of many people around the world by causing respiratory problems. Not only has the pollution worsened, but the supply of fossil fuels is not limitless – as humanity’s reliance increases the supply decreases, and that is all the more reason to break humanity’s reliance on fossil fuels. Fossil fuels should be replaced with cleaner alternatives because fossil fuels cause environmental hazards, are non-renewable, and are detrimental to human health.
Just as long as wind continues to blow and the sun shines, then wind power can produce energy to send to many different areas. There aren’t many locations that have continuous wind. And because of that, the widespread development of wind power isn’t as great as it could be. Although there are more advantages than disadvantages when it comes to this energy source, the disadvantages should be taken just as seriously. Wind power can harm animals, there was a study that stated birds were coming in contact with turbines and dying.
Humans and animals breathe out Carbon Dioxide, often referred to as the greenhouse gas, as a waste product. Plants take in this CO2 and use it to make food. This is called photosynthesis. During this process oxygen is released which is then breathed in by humans and animals. This procedure is repeated over and over and a natural balance is obtained. However this natural balance is disrupted by human activity. People of the world are putting more than 5.5 billion tons of CO2 into the atmosphere every year. 75% of this is caused from the burning of fossil fuels. These fuels are burnt all the time to run factories, power plants and vehicles. The main sources of CO2 emissions are electric utilities, residential buildings, industry and transportation. The other 25% is induced by the destruction of the world's forests. The reason for this is that there are less trees and plants to take in the CO2 but there is just as many, if not more, humans and animals to breathe it out.
The commonly debated “greenhouse effect” refers to “the global average temperature increase that has been observed over the last one hundred years or more” (Spencer). President Barack Obama addressed the issue in an effort to highlight its severity, "We have to all shoulder the responsibility for keeping the planet habitable, or we’re going to suffer the consequences – together” (Leader). The earth’s increasing atmospheric and oceanic temperatures result in climate changes due to cumulative amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere. As an outcome, researchers around the globe have established that the by-product of burning fossil fuels is the main culprit of the increasing temperatures. Global carbon emissions from fossil fuels have significantly increased since 1900, as shown above from a study carried out by the Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center.
The United States currently relies heavily on coal, oil, and natural gas for its energy. While the price of natural gas per barrel continues to plummet, the United States is constantly seeking new sources of renewable energy. Renewable energy consists of any type of natural resource (solar power, ocean power, wind power, rain, snow, etc.). that naturally and automatically replenishes itself. Renewable energy is important because it is infinite and everlasting, meaning our children and our children’s children will be able to utilize these resources long after we are gone.
The three fossil fuels- coal, crude oil, and gas slowly formed over millions of years. These days, we use fossil fuels to power everything- homes, buildings, cars, computers, lights, etc. However, fossil fuels deposits will run out soon, which is a huge problem. Extracting, transporting, and burning fossil fuels are dangerous. There are also many negative biological and environmental impacts that result from the use of fossil fuels, such as ocean acidification, groundwater contamination, land subsidence, oil spills, and global warming. Therefore, we should be trying to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and explore alternative energy sources such as wind energy, hydroelectricity, and solar energy instead. Our world depends on fossil fuels, but they can also hurt us. Fossil fuels are both a blessing and a curse.
There are two main human causes of Earth’s global warming and climate change. The first of which being the greenhouse effect. According to Brian Black in the book Global Warming, the greenhouse effect is the tendency of Earth’s atmosphere to admit the Sun’s radiation but partly retain the low-frequency heat radiation (3). Human activity has changed our greenhouse, especially over the course of the last 150 years due to industrialization. By the burning of fossil fuels, such as coal, petroleum, and oil, carbon dioxide is released into our atmosphere, and heat is trapped in. These gases are typically
The problems associated with climate change are mainly due to the combustion of fossil fuels. It is difficult however to stop this problem. The solutions of being more energy efficient, and improving emissions-control technology, can help lessen the environmental damage done by fossil fuel use they ultimately only alleviate the pressure of increase of pollution and affluence(Delucchi, Jacobson 31).
There are different kinds of resources that we can use in order to produce renewable energy. Solar power, wind power, hydroelectric power are just some of the kinds of renewable energy that might be the best options to obtain energy because they come from natural resources. Although renewable energy can be expensive to build, it has less environmental damage in comparison to non-renewable energy. Besides the natural resources such as sun, wind, water and hydrogen, we also have geothermal power, and biofuels as renewable sources.
Global warming is an increase in average global temperatures. This will lead to rising temperatures of the oceans and the earth’s surface. Coal is a main contributor to global warming because so much electricity is produced from coal-burning power plants. According to the book Global Warming by Peggy Parks, “In the United States, more than 50 percent of all electrical plants use coal, which also provides power for about 40 percent of the total electricity generated throughout the world” (43). Global warming is also caused because of deforestation and the burning of fossil fuels. Many people say that global warming is natural; however, people speed up the process. Global Warming needs to be taken serious because as the temperature rises, it causes melting of polar ice caps, a rise in sea levels or unnatural patters of precipitation which can result in floods. This can also have an effect on wildlife such as the food chain. Many species have been dying of starvation and many have to move to different places due to the temperature changes. Possible solutions to Global Warming is for people to switch to LED light bulbs as it gives the same light and uses less electricity, wash clothes in cold water, buy less products, and to spread the
Fuels like coal, and oil that once were a fine innovation in creating energy are now rapidly deleting and one day will be gone forever; energy that won’t last is often referred to as non-renewable energy. Besides being set up to fail and become inefficient in the future, fossil fuel energy is not clean to use and poses several environmental complications. Coal, for instance is “the dirtiest of all fossil fuels. Coal combustion not only produces sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides that contribute to acid rain and snow, it generates millions of tons of particulates that cause asthma and other respiratory diseases.” As with all usage of fossil fuels, it creates enormous amounts of carbon dioxide, which contributes to greenhouse gas. Not only are fossil fuels dirty, they also pose as a security risk and unforgiving on the American wallet. (Saini)