The Effects Of Fossil Fuels On The Environment

During the past several hundred years, civilization has made rapid progress in industries like air travel, automobiles, and energy production. These developments were made without consideration of the long-term effects that their emissions may have on the planet. Changing weather patterns are now wreaking havoc around the world, and scientists attribute this to human-caused climate change. During President Obama’s State of the Union address in 2015, he stated that, “No challenge poses a greater threat to future generations than climate change,” (“Remarks by the President”). Warming temperatures caused by anthropogenic climate change have disastrous consequences that pose a threat to humanity and the environment.

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.

Climate change, specifically in reference to C02 Emissions released by human use of fossil fuels and their consequential effects on the environment, is perhaps one of the most pressing issues we, not just as Americans, but as human beings face in our lifetimes. Though it may sound like a sensationalist statement the facts are hard to deny. In May of 2013, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

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.

Fossil fuels are bad for our environment, and in a economy that is struggling, there is no point in pouring billions of dollars a year into an energy source that is killing our other resources. This kind of spending and reckless destruction of our environment will eventually have to stop. The question is, when it does what will we do? There are many other forms of alternative energy that are accessible to us right now. These energy sources will eventually have to be used in the place of burning fossil fuels to power our world. People have become so accustomed to the idea that burning fossil fuels is okay because "that 's how it has always been". Even as I am writing this, and researching why it has to stop, I am not in a panic because these warnings about our planets future health have been preached to me for a long time. Someday, though, we won 't have a choice to ignore this issue any longer. "The limiting factor on humans ' fossil fuel use will not be the exhaustion of economically recoverable fossil fuels, but the exhaustion of the Earth 's capacity to withstand the harmful byproducts of fossil fuel combustion." - Jeffrey Rissman. Rissman believes, like I do, that there will come a time that burning fossil fuels won 't be an option. When this time comes solar energy is the way to turn. Solar energy is the best alternative energy source to power our homes and businesses for the future.

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.

Coal, petroleum, natural gas. Together, they are the producers of approximately eighty percent of the world’s energy, and, according to the US Energy Information Administration, are predicted to remain as such throughout the early to-mid twenty-first century (EIA 6). Yet there are far more efficient fuels options than these, as the profound xkcd cartoon to the right suggests, and these options do not involve polluting the atmosphere, exacerbating climate change, or contaminating marine life with black goo. Additionally, fossil fuels are nonrenewable resources, and by definition cannot be expected to last forever. They are simply not a feasible long-term option. Therefore, rather than merely limit the use of fossil fuels, world policymakers should put as much effort as possible into developing cleaner, more efficient energy options like nuclear fusion. When fully commercialized, these more potent fuel sources should make fossil fuels obsolete by their very presence in the economy.

Fossil fuels are necessary for our country to be kept alive. Natural gas, Coal, and oil are very important resources that we use a daily bases to run almost everything you see. Nearly 90% of our country runs of fossil fuels that are non-renewable. The problem with this is that there are cost and effects to using these fossil fuels. Cost of paying for the jobs needed to change these fossil fuels into energy is a very big cost that comes out of every Americans pocket. To pay for these cost we have electricity bills, water bills, gas bills that do not nearly cover the cost to actually make the energy. Some cost we do not notice until it is too late. Fossil fuels have many effects on the health of the general population. When burning fossil

Fossil fuels have been a big discussion in today’s world due to the pollution they have been causing on the earth. Fossil fuels have been creating energy for the world for so many years. Fossil fuels like oil, natural gas, and coals used every day by almost every American. We use it to travel, to keep us warm, to cook our food, and many other everyday activities, but we don’t know the harm it is doing to the world. Thanks to Media today we are starting to realize the damage fossil fuel is causing on our world. But can we live without the use of fossil fuels, they been around for so long can we move on from their advantages.

Global warming is “the gradual increase in the overall temperature of the Earth’s atmosphere generally attributed to the greenhouse effect caused by increased levels of carbon dioxide and other pollutants” (Global Warming). The current climate changes that are occurring all over the world have sparked a growing controversy on whether global warming is indeed a result of human activity. Many of these individuals who play a role in this controversy argue that the current climate changes are simply part of the patterns seen in the Earth’s geological history or that it is simply caused by an increase in the brightness of the sun. This point-of-view is understandable as humanity is dependent on the climate for survival. However, many climatologists and scientists have found that the current climate changes are much more worrisome than previous climate changes. They have found that carbon dioxide (CO2) levels have increased over the years, because of an increase in the use of coal, oil, and gas, and that the Earth’s current pattern of warming is greater and faster than that of prehistoric warming episodes.

According to the reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the people have to cut about 90% of the use of fossil fuels worldwide to have a slim chance of stopping Global Warming. If the people have anything less than the percentage given, Global Warming will not stop. As of now Global Warming is a big issue throughout the world. Some say Global Warming is just a myth to scare people and it’s just a natural cause, but there is proof that Global Warming is a fact and that the main cause of Global Warming is anthropogenic causes or man-made. Man has overused the burning of fossil fuels throughout generations and the numbers of burning fossil fuels keeps getting higher every year. The increase of temperatures, sea levels, and carbon dioxide in the last century shows evidence that Global Warming is occurring and man is the main problem.

It would be very difficult for our upcoming generations if we don’t pay the price of climate change now.Over the coming 25 or 30 years, scientists say, the climate is likely to resemble that of today, although gradually getting warmer, with more of the extreme heat waves that can kill vulnerable people. Rainfall will be heavier in many parts of the world, but the periods between rains will most likely grow hotter and drier. The number of hurricanes and typhoons may actually fall, but the ones that do occur will draw energy from a hotter ocean surface, and therefore may be more intense and will also lead to the melting of the polar ice caps, causing the seas to rise high enough to flood most of the world’s coastal cities ultimately leading to the loss of human population, destruction of land near to the sea coast which would eventually lead to slower progress and regular threats to people living near sea cost.

We as a society have reached one of the most crucial time periods in the history of our world. Due to the way we have used the resources on this earth we have created a situation in which our climate is drastically changing. The burning of fossil fuels such as coal and oil has caused gases like carbon dioxide to become trapped in the atmosphere causing a natural greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect has caused the earth’s average temperature to rise and has resulted in arctic glaciers melting. These glaciers had gases trapped inside them that are now being released into the atmosphere further raising the earth's temperature. Due to the way we are polluting our air we have caused global warming. This global warming has caused stronger natural disasters such as hurricanes and wildfires putting our society in more danger than ever before.

Fossil fuels are used as a main source of energy all over the world, including Canada. The burning of fossil fuels is the world’s leading source of emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), which is one of the greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming. In residential construction, Canada has become aware of the effects of fossil fuels and is adopting a new way of building with an environmentally friendly green approach using Geothermal Energy Pump Systems. In residential homes, Geothermal Energy Pumps are systems that can achieve exact functions of standard convection systems without the harmful effects of fossil fuels. These systems will significantly lower the amount of energy required to heat a home, leading to