Solar energy is more environment friendly. This alternative source does not rely on the incineration of carbon substances to produce energy in contrast to the commonly used fossil fuels and therefore, does not aggravate the air and water pollution issues that the world is currently facing. Solar energy also has only a few detrimental effects to society and these can be easily eradicated by modern technology and strict regulation. During the energy production process, solar factories release toxic chemicals; however, these chemicals do not pose a threat because there are already solutions that can remedy this situation. Aside from this, solar power is categorized into renewable energy; hence, it does not incur the damages that are usually sustained when utilizing fossil fuels. Producing fossil fuel energy involves hazardous activities, such as mining, drilling, ground clearing, and waste disposal, which could be destructive to both humans and the environment. Mining causes soil erosion, which could exterminate soil organisms and destroy aquatic ecosystems. The method of land reclamation is not a solution because the chemical properties of reclaimed mine soils have been immensely altered and so this method cannot guarantee the regrowth of native flora. The Bagacay Mine in Hinabangan, Western Samar, Philippines serves as an example of the destruction caused by mining. The reports show that the area is devoid of vegetation, narrower creeks, and unstable slopes that could cause landslides along with the siltation of drainage systems (Mines and Geosciences Bureau & Mining Environment and Safety Division, n.d.). In addition to these, mining is perilous to the laborers. An investigation by Goodstein (2005) revealed that the death toll of coal mining in England alone exceeded more than 100,000 during the second half of the 19th century. Oil drilling has negative impacts as well; it contributes to pollution through oil spills, gas flares, and waste discharges. The Niger delta located in Africa is one of the largest wetlands in the world and it has become devastated because of oil exploitation and exploration. Between 1993 and mid – 2007, 35 incidences of oil spills have been recorded. These are disastrous because oil spills discharge hydrocarbons into the soil and water sources and contaminates crops along with marine ecosystems. Oil spillage also prevents the absorption of oxygen in mangroves and ultimately leads to death. Gas flares also releases hydrocarbon compounds such as methane and sulphurous oxides, which contributes to the greenhouse gases.
...sumption, creates emission of greenhouse gases and other harmful chemical materials. Once released into the air, it can cause environmental problems, which in turn threatens not only the environment, but also the health of the people who live in it. In order to reduce the use of energy to help protect our planet and our health, the diamond mining industry has implemented renewable energy programs to monitor energy and carbon emission. Since its beginning, mining company PHP Billiton program has saved an equivalent of one million liters of diesel fuel per year at their Ekati Diamond Mine in Canada’s Northwest Territories. The health of the environment and the health of humanity are as one. Whatever we do to our planet, we do to ourselves. Reducing energy consumption of diamond mining not only helps protect our planet, but also helps protect the health of our people.
Natural Gas - The process of getting natural gas through drilling might cause the groundwater to be contaminated. The way that transport natural gas might disturb the environment
Coal also can be very damaging to the environment. People in the coal industry don’t always follow the precautions needed for helping the recovering environment that coal mining hurt. Most of the time water is polluted from the byproduct the is produced while mining coal. Like acid mine drainage, air pollution from coal-fired power plants, coal dust, coal sludge, and mountaintop
The sun has been a major aspect of life since the beginning of time. People used many other forms of energy before electricity was discovered. There has been a debate over energy resources for years. Many people are worried about what current energy resources may be doing to the environment. Oil spills and nuclear power plant mishaps have only been a few accidents that have had a big impact on the environment and the people who inhabit it. There are plenty of energy sources that do not harm the environment and are still able to get the job done. Solar energy is one energy alternative that will insure the betterment of the country and, at the same time, protect the natural environment.
Roughly 68 percent of the electricity generated in the United States of America is produced by fossil fuels. That includes petroleum, natural gases and coal. Although coal contributes around 37 percent to the factor, it is by far not the cleanest of them all. Some might argue that it is good for the economy because it is cheap and it creates jobs.. But the other side of the story portrays coal mining as a process that kills thousands of coal miners a year and that it practically destroys the environment around the mining with soot and air pollution. Mining now days is a big part of urbanization; due to how cheap the process is. There are different ways that coal mining is done. Mainly mountain top removal is done but there are many other
With the growing cost of fuel for cars and the rolling blackouts of last summer, the need for an alternative, cost-effective, environment friendly energy source is escalating. Many possible solutions have been presented, such as nuclear power, wind power, and hydrogen fuel cells; prevalent among these is solar power.
Franklin D. Roosevelt once said, “A nation that destroys its soils destroys itself. Forest are the lungs of our land, purifying the air, and giving fresh strength to our people.” Gold mining is certainly the most harmful to the environment in forms of mining. It creates enormous amount of pollution, toxic waste, and most importantly the destruction of the rainforests. Due to the use of dirty practices such as open pit mining and cyanide heap leaching, mining companies generate about 20 tons of toxic waste for every 0.333 ounce gold ring.
Though it has had many negative impacts on the environment in the past, mining is a vital industry completely necessary to our economy and lives. Nearly every item we use or encounter in our day to day lives is mined or contains mined products. Without the excavation of such materials things like computers, televisions, large building structures, electricity, and cars would not be possible. Virtually every technological and medical advance uses minded materials, without which millions would suffer. Some examples of minerals in the home include the telephone which is made from as many as 42 different minerals, including aluminum, beryllium, coal, copper, gold, iron, silver, and talc. A television requires over 35 different minerals, and more than 30 minerals are needed to make a single personal computer. Without boron, copper, gold and quartz, your digital alarm clock would not work. Every American uses an average 47,000 pounds of newly mined materials each year, which is higher than all other countries with the exception of Japan, which is a staggering figure representative of our dependence and need for mined minerals. Coal makes up more than half of nation’s electricity, and will continue to be the largest electrical supplier into 2020 & accounting for some 95 percent of the nation's fossil energy reserves – nine of every ten short-tons of coal mined in the United States is used for electricity generation. As the population of the world grows more mineral resources must be exploited through mining in order to support the rising demand for such products. Though it may present a hazard to the environment and those physically located nears the mines, the materials extracted from mines...
Burning and mining coal for fuel is harmful to the environment, but because of how cheap and easy it is to find, many people are unwilling to give it up as a fuel source. One of the problems with coal is that they are limited and are non-renewable, so once it has been used we won’t be able to use it again. When coal gets burned, they start to release harmful, dangerous toxins such as mercury, lead and arsenic that will then escape into the air. It also releases large amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere. These emissions increase the greenhouse effect in the atmosphere and lead to global warming.
“Pollution is the major disadvantage that is formed due to fossil fuels. When burnt they give out carbon dioxide, a green housed gas which is the main aspect of global warming.”(conserve-energy-future.com) That is an environmental hazard. Drilling can be inconsistent because some places may have a lot of oil, and some places do not. Sometimes if there is too much oil there can be a blow out. People also drill on their properties just for money, and some drill just to see if they have oil for money. Doing that is inconsistent. Gas prices rise and cause tension between nations. “Middle-east countries have huge reserves of oil and natural gas and many other countries are dependent on them for constant supply of these fuels.”(conserve-energy-future.com) Gas prices rise and some people cannot afford gas...
Fossil fuel is the primary energy resources that help to build man civilization in the past few centuries. In the 18th centuries, the industrial revolution had started and people start to use coal (type of fossil fuel) to run up the steam engine. This is the turning point of the history, where the manufacturing process transition from hand production to machine production. These were beginning of the era of technology todays. However, with 200 years uncontrollably use of fossil fuels, this energy resources become lesser and lesser and will eventually gone forever as fossil fuel takes billions of years to formed. Now it is the time to develop another type of energy resources to replace fossil fuels before it has gone.
Greenhouse gasses that are released into the air when mining are harmful to the environment and the release of dust particulates negatively affect the ecosystems around the mines. As well as the air pollution there is usually a large amount of noise. In Gauteng large scale mining has caused the dolomite rock to cave in which has resulted in large sinkholes forming and earthquakes.
In our days, mining for resources is inevitable. The resources we need are valuable in everyday life. Such resources mined up are coal, copper, gold, silver, and sand. However, mining poses environmental risks that can degrade the quality of soil and water, which can end up effecting us humans if not taken care of and many of the damages are irreversible once they have occurred.
Ever since the dawn of time, the sun has been a resource we cannot live
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)