Fossil fuels, such as coal, oil, and natural gas, cause more harm to our environment than renewable energy sources do. For example, fossil fuels are responsible for air and water pollution, public health damage, wildlife and habitat loss, water use, and global warming emissions. Renewable energy sources include wind, solar, geothermal, biomass, and hydropower. While these sources have environmental impacts, it is far less significant than traditional fossil fuels. The amount of damage depends on the technology used, where the energy is coming from geographically, and other factors. We can utilize these factors to try and minimize our footprint on the environment.
Fossil fuels are a major contributor to global warming. Burning coal, oil, and gas are directly related to the climate crisis. Global warming brings risks of extreme heat waves, heavy precipitation, droughts, sea-level rise, polar melting, health risks, and other concerning trends. Unearthing, processing, and moving energy underground takes such an enormous toll on our landscapes and ecosystems. The fossil fuel industry leases insane stretches of land for infrastructure, including wells, pipelines, access roads, and facilities for processing. Even after operations close down, the nutrient rich land never returns to what it once was. We simply cannot keep using the energy sources that we are dependent on. We are causing great harm to the environment that sustains human life, and that needs to be taken very seriously. In 2018, $630 billion went to low carbon energy. In global investments, that is only 35%. The remainder, which was about $1.2 trillion, went to fossil fuels. This statistic shows the priorities of investors, and that is not what is needed. If more money is allocated to clean energy, we can experiment with new types of energy that will not cause as much harm.
Besides greenhouse gases, burning fossil fuels also generates air pollutants, such as soot and smog, that increase the risk of strokes, heart diseases, lung cancer, and other respiratory diseases. In addition to this, oil spills and explosions have destroyed water, land, homes, and communities. For example, BP’s Deepwater Horizon catastrophe spilled 4.9 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. Eleven rig workers were killed, along with millions of marine animals. Oil gushed into the Gulf for eighty-seven long days and the world had to helpless watch the immense amount of biodiversity that was lost. Ten years later, many species are still struggling with extremely low population counts specifically deep-sea coral, common loons, and spotted sea trout.
