Impact of Fossil Fuel Use
Fossil fuel is a fuel such as natural gas, coal, or oil that are obtained from former living things, are combustible, and are made through natural processes. A lot of the items we use daily contain fossil fuels, they are mainly used as car gasoline, jet fuel, to heat our homes, for an electricity source, to the power industry for manufacturing purposes. In the United States, natural gas, oil, and coal make 81% of the total energy (Perera, 2017). The use of fossil fuel not only results in invisible harm but also a visible impact on the environment and health.
Factors Contributing
The availability of fossil fuel makes it hard to quit its use, the availability of energy in the present worldwide framework exclusively depends on fossil fuel availability. Coal, oil, and natural gas on their account for 80% of the energy consumed globally (Perera, 2017). Countries like China, the United States, and the European Union produce them in large quantities. It is not easy to transport coal over long distance and it is therefore mostly used where it is available. On the other hand, natural gas and oil can easily be transported from where they are extracted making it possible for countries not producing them to import and use them.
Fossil fuels are affordable. Natural gas is the most affordable and therefore the most consumed fossil fuel. According to Perera, (2017) the International Monetary Funds report states that an average of 5.3 trillion is used annually on fossil fuels, which is a clear indication that it is the most used type of fuel. Additionally, fossil fuels are highly efficient. This means that they produce large amounts of energy even on using a small amount of it and without adding other energies. This large amount of energy concentrated makes work easier and is mainly why people prefer it to other fuels.
Since fossil fuels are made through natural processes over a long period, they are mostly readymade. As per Perera, (2017) this is because, there sources like trees are usually conveniently there, compared to alternative fuels like geothermal, wind, and solar which you have to find a way to harvest, transform and store efficiently before starting to use them. On the other hand, fossil fuels do not require much innovation. The work of collecting or storing has already been done, and you only need fire. Also, unlike solar power, fossil fuels can be used anytime and anywhere regardless of time, location, or weather. It is also hard to abandon the use of fossil fuels because they have been the main energy source for the last two centuries. They have been the dominant energy source through industrialization, switching from fossil fuel to another energy source means rethinking how we understand energy and even how we live (Perera, 2017).
Impact on Humans
When burning fossil fuels, carbon monoxide, sulfates, and ozone are released into the air. These particulates are normally tiny and their diameter can even be 0.1 micrometers or less but are very harmful to human health. Ozone, for instance, causes asthma that is characterized by breathing problems. According to the World Health Organization, 300 million people are reported to have asthma worldwide, 20 million being Americans (Perera, 2017). Nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide that are also produced when burning fossil fuels causes air pollution and leads to pneumonia that is of high risk to older adults and young children. Moreover, exposure to nitrogen dioxide can result in the inflammation of the airway characterized by fever, coughing, and fatigue leading to bronchitis.
Burning coal is more harmful towards the heart than burning natural gas or oil. Toxins such as arsenic, mercury, and selenium that coal burning produces can be absorbed in the blood and accumulate on fatty deposits or arterial lining leading to a heart attack. Perera, (2017) points out that within just a few hours, ozone can cause a reaction with biological tissues resulting in heart rate changes leading to heart disease. Mercury thickens arteries and causes hypertension, while exposure to carcinogens like lead or benzene causes cancer. The liver, brain, and kidney damage occur due to exposure to mercury. Toxic metals in food gotten from the environment through industrial processes such as smelting can lead to damage to the nervous system. Lead, heavy metal, and hydrocarbons released when burning fossil fuels reduces immune functions.
Impact on Animals
Sulphuric acid, a pollutant from fossil fuel when in the air mixes with droplets of rainwater resulting in acid rain. Acid rain harm aquatic, terrestrial, domestic, and wild animals by contaminating water and killing trees. For aquatic animals like fish, acid rain damages their gills thus affecting respiration. Acid rain also increases the pH of lakes, marshes, and stream from 4 to even more than 5 hence affecting aquatic life. Most eggs of a fish cannot hatch at pH 5 (Perera, 2017). Wild animals’ habitat gets destroyed by acid rain. This is because nutrients and minerals found in the soil that is needed for trees to grow gets destroyed by acid rain. Trees’ foliage nutrients get stripped by acidic clouds and fog leaving them with dead or brown leaves affecting their ability to absorb light making it hard for trees to withstand strong winds because they are weak.
In Cameroon, pollution as a result of fossil fuels from the SONORA refinery station has caused great damage to aquatic life resulting in death and extinction of many aquatic animals (Perera 2017). Most animals, especially those hunted for food tend to migrate to northern habitats or places whose altitudes are higher when climate changes become warm due to the impact of fossil fuel on the environment. Noise pollution caused when extracting fossil fuels such as during oil drilling causes disturbance to animals and it may result in them migrating to other areas, therefore, affecting biodiversity in that region. Sometimes, fossil fuels cause splitting of landscapes into small fragments making it hard to sustain wildlife populations.
Impact on Plants
A lot of carbon monoxide accumulated in the atmosphere leads to global warming. This is because the carbon monoxide is converted to carbon dioxide that drastically increases the earth’s surface temperature whose implications include heat waves, floods, drastic temperature changes, wildfires, severe weather, and drought. Water and food supply are therefore threatened. Furthermore, this change in climate allows disease-carrying insects and those that destroy plants to expand their range and in large numbers such as locusts that destroy plants when they are in large numbers (Perera, 2017).
Acid rain caused by burning fossil fuels leaks aluminum to the soil that affects the production of plants. It enters the root tip and hinders the root development of the plant. Changes in the amount of food produced by plants are caused by weather changes. emission of carbon results in temperature increase and precipitation decrease changing the conditions for the growth of food crops. For example, in Central Valley, California, increased warming caused by carbon emission is said to be the reason for the reduced production of rice, wheat, maize, and tomatoes (Perera, 2017).
Solutions
Although it is not possible to immediately stop the use of fossil fuels since the global economy, livelihoods and human health largely depend on them, several actions can be undertaken to reduce dependency on fossil fuels. One way forward is to limit the production of fossil fuels, not just its consumption. According to Perera, (2017) several countries have recently imposed limits on fossil fuel production in the process of reducing pollution to the environment. To reduce the excessive use of fuels, public transport such as trains can be used when traveling for long distances. For shorter distances, people should be encouraged to walk therefore doing some exercise that is good for one’s health or to cycle to the desired destination rather than to drive there.
Fuels that have low emissions are renewable and combustion-free like wind or hydropower and solar can be used instead of fossil fuels to generate power, energy, or heat. Moreover, apart from this green technology, green cars such as the Hyundai Ioniq Electric car 2019 model should be used more to keep the environment pollution-free. Green cars are eco-friendly vehicles that have fewer negative impacts on the environment compared to vehicles using fossil fuels like gasoline (Perera, 2017). For electricity, tidal energy which is more environmentally friendly can be used since it uses the natural ocean currents and tides as they rise and fall to generate energy that is then converted to electricity.
Creating awareness can go a long way to help conserve the environment. People should be made aware of the negative impacts of fossil fuels on the environment and human health and be encouraged to use alternative fuels and energy sources that are eco-friendlier (Perera, 2017). The government can also play a big role in controlling the use of fossil fuels by permitting its use. To export fossil fuels, federal authorities should be obtained. The process is long and tiresome because different departments have to give the go-ahead, therefore, discouraging people who would want to freely export fossil fuel and in for this reason control its consumption.