Despite the numerous benefits of having electricity generated from fossil fuels which also known as the cheapest energy, they are actually causing harm to both environment and human .
There are 3 important stages in obtaining the energy starting from when the fossil fuel are being obtained in their raw form, transported to the various plants and finally being processed to become what we know as electricity.
Obtaining
Coal mining releases methane, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide and the explosives used can blast these particulates into the air causing damage to water bodies, biodiversity and earth’s atmosphere. Oil drilling on the other hand uses seismic waves to detect oil and this disrupts the sonar of whales and dolphins thus causing them to beach and in extreme cases it changed their migratory pattern entirely.
Transporting
Getting the fossil fuels out of the ground is only the beginning and the next step is transporting them to plants where they are being processed. The fact is transporting of fossil fuels pose an even larger danger to the environment and human. A typical coal plant will require around 40 railroad cars to supply 1.4 million tons of coal and it adds up to 14,600 railroad cars a year. These railroad locomotives release nearly 1 million tons of nitrogen oxide and 52,000 tons of coarse and small particles. Nitrogen oxide can react with many compounds and turn into nitric acid vapor which causes acid rain which will worsen conditions such as bronchitis, heart disease and can also cause premature death after inhalation.
Transportation of oil also pose great danger to the marine life as large oil tankers are being used to transport the crude oil and more often than not, there would be oil spill and it will pollute the water and disrupt the food chain.
Processing
Processing of the fossil fuels is the worst part of the process of turning fossil fuels into electricity whereby they burn the fossil fuels obtained. In the case of obtaining electricity from coal, the plants are supposed to burn the coal and the process of burning coal releases millions of tons of toxic chemicals such as sulfur dioxide, mercury, nitrogen oxides into the air and ultimately into our bodies. These toxic chemicals will not only cause respiratory ailments but also cardiovascular and nervous system disorder. Due to the serious air pollution, around 36,000 Americans die from it each year, 36,000 times more than shark fatality.
Electricity is not the only thing generated from burning of coal, wastes such as ash, sludge, toxic substances are also generated but are being disposed of carelessly. Cooling water are needed to cool down the plants when they burn the coals and they draw water from nearby water bodies like rivers, lake or ocean and 21 million fish eggs, fish larvae and other small fishes may also be sucked into it thus injuring and killing them in the process. The power plants add chlorine or other toxic chemicals into the water so as to decrease the algae growth. After using the water to cool the plants down, it is then being released back but 20-25° F hotter. This decrease the fertility and increase the heart rates of fish which slowly but surely killing off the fish population.
However despite having many negative impacts, fossil fuel remains the most used energy source as they are cheap. It will remain as the dominant energy source for at least the next few decades in spite of the pollutions. So the only hope of living in a less polluted world is using lesser energy as well as clean energy source such as solar and wind energy.
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