It's Time to Move Beyond Fossil Fuels

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Recommended: Environmental impacts of fossil fuel consumption

It's Time to Move Beyond Fossil Fuels to Environmentally Friendly Energy Sources

Fossil fuels, the main fuel for firing power stations for electricity, heating homes, and providing fuel for transport, have been used for many years. Despite their relative inexpensiveness, fossil fuels have major drawbacks. They introduce a myriad of negative implications including environmental degradation, global warming, acid rain, health problems, and ecosystem destruction. Even though fossil fuels are cheaper today than renewable sources of energy, it is well worth spending the extra money on these more environmentally friendly types of energy. After all, who wants to live on an unhealthy planet?

The main component of fossil fuels are hydrocarbons. While burning hydrocarbons, hazardous pollutants such as carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and particulate matter are emitted into the atmosphere (Walker). Upon combustion of sulfurous coals and fuel oils in power plants, sulfur dioxide is released. SO2 has negative effects on vegetation, animals, and people. It causes reduced growth in plants and animals, while leading to increases in chronic respiratory diseases, exacerbation of asthma, and smarting of the nose and mouth in humans. If SO2 is coupled with nitroxides (NOX) and ammonia (NH3), acidification of soils and water could result (Hemsley-Flint).

Nitroxides originate mainly from vehicle emissions and to a lesser extent, power generation. NOX can lead to acidification problems when the nitric acid gets dissolved in groundwater. Eutrophication results when massive amounts of nitrogen enter groundwater and leave many bodies of water lifeless (Hemsley-Flint). In addition, ...

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...ought to a halt. This is because warmer local climates may not be able to support all species (“The Consequences…”).

As we have seen, the effects of fossil fuel emissions are far reaching. They effect the environment, people, animals, and our whole planet. We must regulate the use of fossil fuels if we want to control this climate change and reduce air pollution. At the rate we are going, our fossil fuel reserves will become very scarce in the near future. This means prices will go up a great deal. Eventually fossil fuels will be phased out completely, and we will be forced to consider other alternatives. In the meantime, however, we must regulate the use of fossil fuels and explore cleaner, renewable energy sources. The potential problems that could result if we don’t take action now could be devastating to the planet and humanity as a whole.

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