The Causes And Effects Of Fossil Fuels

In the year 2013, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the United States consumed a staggering 6.89 billion barrels of oil (U.S.EIA). Which in fact, equates to 18.89 million barrels being consumed every single day. That is a vast amount of petroleum products being consumed on a daily national level. If the calculation is made, based on a barrel equaling forty two gallons, it would come out to 289,583,700,000 gallons per year, or 793,380,000 gallons per day. The amount is incredible, almost unbelievable. If the United States continues its use of oil at this rate, the supply will only last another forty years. With more and more cars being on the road and operating machinery performing tasks, the supply of petroleum will not be able to meet demand forever. As our use of fossil fuels increases, so does our need for a new source of renewable energy.

Never in the history of the human species have we been in such a rapidly changing environment. Since the beginning of the industrial revolution, we have been making social, economical, scientific, and environmental changes and advancements at an unprecedented rate. Societal advancements, while much appreciated by the average Joe, have been detrimental to our environment. Every days forests are cut, rivers polluted, and once ecologically important areas are cemented over to compensate for our rapidly growing population. As the status of our natural world becomes more critical by the year it is important that we look at the driving factors and reasons for this destruction of the natural world. While pollutants and globalization are the driving

In the United States, a sustainable society is desired by virtually every citizen, especially the ones informed of the consequences caused by our wanton use of fossil fuels and the detrimental methods used to extract them from the earth. Nevertheless, despite almost universal acceptance of the need to turn away from nonrenewable and polluting energy sources, there are forces preventing that switch. One of those forces is the megalith that is our current energy paradigm, or the existing energy production/consumption infrastructure that we’ve built which runs largely on nonrenewable resources. Yet, as daunting as a transition to a world run on renewable energies like solar, an energy source with significant growth-potential, may seem from a technological and logistical standpoint, it is eminently feasible. The most problematic hurdle the United States faces is, in truth, political stagnation. While intense lobbying efforts from the fossil fuel industry and public utilities don’t help, the gridlock caused by the inherent framework of the U.S. political system is principally to blame for governmental malaise when it comes to investing in green technology. However, with increasing concerns over environmental degradation and impending climate change, progress has been made. The U.S. Department of Energy (USDE) has appointed 25 cities across the country to be part of its “Solar America City” initiative, including Philadelphia. Philadelphia, which aims to become the leading city in

In today’s society, environmental problems are a big problem that plague our world. These detrimental changes are creating astonishing problems for every living organism. Global warming is not a myth. Glaciers are rapidly melting, ecosystems are being destroyed, trees are being cut down for profit, and the globe is warming up and changing our normal climate. Everyone is a contributor to these changes, whether it is a big contribution or a small one. Big businesses and governments all around the world are contributing to the increase in pollution. Factories release chemical waste into our air, and oceans which over time causes holes in our ozone layer. This is not a small easily reversible problem. Chemical air pollution causes problems to not only our environment, but to all the species living on this earth.

The definition of climate change is “a change in global or regional climate patterns, in particular a change apparent from the mid to late 20th century onwards and attributed largely to the increased levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide produced by the use of fossil fuels.” (Google Dictionary). Due to our dependence on fossil fuels as our main source for energy and our carbon dioxide emissions over decades, climate change has rapidly emerged on Earth. Yet, we still have those who deny any scientific evidence of the effect of the dependence on fossil fuels. Climate change is a threat one should not ignore but want to reverse with the transition from fossil fuels to clean energy.

Although there is a common misconception that fossil fuels will cause pollution, mankind should rely on fossil fuels for energy not only because they are cheap and plentiful, but also because alternative energy is very unreliable.

The 20th century witnessed the discovery of substantial petroleum reserves in America, with domestic production peaking in the 1970s (Campbell, 2002), which serves as the primary fuel in the country. Since then, there has been a steady decline in production. However, recent economic growth has resulted in increased demand, making the United States one of the largest consumers of fuel in the world. Other fuels such as gas and coal, despite their significant domestic supplies, are also facing increased danger of exhaustion (E.W.G, 2007), necessitating the need for America to start weaning itself off these fossil fuels. In addition to these, the impact of these fuels on the environment and the atmosphere also necessitate the country to reconsider its energy sources. If we are able to decrease domestic use of fossil fuels, increase the amount of public transportation and deliver more innovation in alternative energy we could significantly decrease our dependence on fossil fuels.

Two factors contributed to mass pollution, population growth and rise of machines during industrial revolution. In the past 150 years, humans have risen to become the major polluters. In the past one and a half centuries we humans have brought about the rise of democracy, and fall of communism. We’ve survived two world wars, two great recessions, and one nuclear crisis. We have also managed to do something that no other animals could do in the past millions of years, we brought about mass pollution, habitat loss, health issues, and mass extinctions. Because of the population growth and civilization venturing into habitats once roamed by the beasts, and humans have come into contact with many new diseases. We have also endangered ourselves as well as thousands of other animals. As a matter a fact according to the UN about 150 species of plants and animals go extinct every day, to put this in perspective about 6 go extinct every hour. Due to this pollution is bad and is a major concern that we have to take seriously.

In the past nine years there have been major developments in the environmental regulations put forth by the United States government concerning fossil fuels. Petroleum, coal and natural gas have been used as the leading fossil fuels for both transportation and energy production. These fossil fuels are reasonably abundant and easy to extract from the earth; moreover, they are easily transported and combusted for energy. Most of the current infrastructure in place for energy production is designed to burn fossil fuels in order to produce electricity. Burning fossil fuels releases vast amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The buildup of carbon dioxide and other gasses from combustion in the atmosphere results in a phenomenon called global warming.

Everyday in U.S., immense amount of fossil fuel is burned. Fossil fuels are fuel formed by natural processes, such as decomposition of buried dead organisms. Fossil fuel release carbon dioxide when they are burned which adds to the greenhouse effect and increases global warming. The way we can help the environment and reduce the amount of carbon dioxide is by replaying fossil fuels with solar and wind sources for electric power generations in the U.S.

As time goes on, the environment alternates its patterns to conform with the needs of it habitants. A variety of things that can damage the environment can be as small as throwing a piece of paper on the floor, to owning a company which pumps harmful chemicals into the atmosphere. Most of these affecting factors are caused by people, but some can be caused by things like natural disasters, which can't really be avoided. Others can be due to people poisoning the atmosphere which, over time, causes great damage towards our habitats. All through history, and even today, there are many factors in which causes damage to the earth and create a large, worldwide, issue.

Fossil fuels are always used in the world and have been in the earth for millions of years, similar to how a tradition stays in a culture. Even though Fossil fuels are like traditions they are very harming by causing pollution to the environment. Fossil fuels also hurt animals and can destroy their environment. The burning of fossil fuels can endanger us by damaging our lungs every time we inhale. Fossil fuels have endangered the environment. They make life easier for us and it is statistically proven that 90% of our technological energy is powered by fossil fuels. They help powering cars, heating homes, and cook our food. These examples are just a few but there are a lot more of problems with these daily used resources.

Pollution has become a prevalent issue worldwide and has begun to affect the air used to breathe, the soil used to grow food, and the water used to drink. All of these effects result in commonly occurring destruction of health and wildlife that one may have seen on the news or heard from peers. In order to live, one needs food, water, clothing, and shelter. If the water and food that society consumes gets contaminated, a major component of life has been eradicated, which can only have negative consequences. If more people are educated as to what effects the environment, the world has a chance to counteract the effects of pollution. The main causes of pollution are the burning of fossil fuels such as with car exhausts, littering as a result of societal norms and laziness, and factory waste as a result of lax waste regulation, and can result in mass destruction of the environment and catastrophic effects on the everyday lives of contemporary people.

When talking about fossil fuels, it is inevitable to think about their impact on the environment. After all, “burning fossil fuels like oil and natural gas produce greenhouse gas emissions such as ozone, methane, carbon dioxide” (Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, 2017), and many other substances that harm our planet and contribute to global warming. But as humans we are on an uncomfortable position, fossil fuels generate most of the energy we consume but also pollute the planet, and according to the International Energy Agency, global demand for energy is expected to increase 31 per cent by 2040 (Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, 2017). In addition, “Canada's share of global greenhouse gas emissions is about two per cent” (Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, 2017), which doesn’t sound as much, but still generates a negative impact on the environment. Then how can be stop using fossil fuels if the energy demand is increasing?

As recent as it may seem, pollution was actually an apparent issue even for the ancient civilizations since the fire they used to cook would release particles which would pollute the surrounding atmosphere. However, this kind of pollution that occurred in the previous civilizations did not pose much of a threat to the environment because it was very minimal. As time progressed the technological advancements that were made in the 19th and 20th centuries helped bring about an increased production and use of new substances such as chemicals and fossil fuels which enhanced people 's standards of living. Several substances such as oil, insecticides and coal are all very proficient at providing their primary benefits like energy generation, but they each contribute to the damage and destruction being done the environment in some way. The result of utilizing these substances is now causing the natural world to experience far more extensive and seismic pollution than anything that has ever before. Overusing these resources in order to satisfy the rising demand for them is inevitable since they are somehow involved or used to complete almost every job that people do in today 's world, and this is ultimately making the pollution problem much worse. Therefore, the most practical solution that people have come up with is the safe and proper control of how these resources are obtained and used which will help minimize the pollution they