What effects do fossil fuels have?
We use fossil fuels to produce and power many things that we all take for granted, such as electricity, fueling many types of vehicles, cosmetics, medicine and plastic. In 2015, the US generated 4 trillion kilowatt hours of electricity. 67% of this was generated using fossil fuels. This shows that humans are very reliant on fossil fuels, as they are used for many important things that we use in our everyday lives. This reliance and use of fossil fuels has both positives and negative effects on different aspects of sustainability. Firstly, I will look at the positive effects.
Positive Effects
The use of fossil fuels has positive impacts on the economy. Companies that sell fossil fuels can make lots of money. And if people have money, then they can buy more things which is great for other companies selling products. These companies that extract fossil fuels also employ a lot of people to do this. According to The Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 2 million people work either in extraction of fossil fuels, support services, pipeline construction and selling fossil fuels, in the USA alone. The large amount of money being made by companies extracting and selling fossil fuels is taxed, so the government gets money which as they can spend on schools, hospitals and other infrastructure. These economic impacts that fossil fuels have are also caused by harnessing and selling other sources of energy, but fossil fuels are used as they are cheap, relatively abundant, stable, efficient and easy to transport. As well as having positive impacts, fossil fuels also have many negative impacts and downsides, which threaten the existence of most life on earth. I will discuss negatives next.
Negative Effects
Fossil fuels have numerous negative effects on different aspects of sustainability, especially environmental sustainability. Some of these effects are air pollution, global warming, destruction of habitats, oil spills and acid rain. I will now explain these things in more detail.
Global Warming
Global warming is the increasing average temperature of the earth, due to increased amounts of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The reason why the temperature increases is explained by the greenhouse effect. When energy from the sun travels through the atmosphere to the earth, some energy bounces back into space, while the rest is absorbed by the oceans, land and atmosphere. This energy increases the temperature of the surface. The energy is then expelled into the atmosphere. Some of the energy travels through into space, and some is absorbed by greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. This excites the gas molecules, which creates heat and increases the temperature of the atmosphere, and the molecules emit energy. Some of this energy travels into space, but some makes it way back to the earth's surface which warms it up again. When fossil fuels are burned, carbon dioxide gas is released, which is a greenhouse gas. The more greenhouse gases there are in the atmosphere, the more heat is reflected back to earth rather than into space. If more heat is being reflected back to earth than normal, then over time the temperature will increase. Since 1885, the earths global temperature has risen about 0.85 degrees celsius, and is predicted to rise between 0.3 degrees (best case scenario) and 4.8 degrees (worst case scenario).
Global warming is the increasing average temperature of the earth, due to increased amounts of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The reason why the temperature increases is explained by the greenhouse effect. When energy from the sun travels through the atmosphere to the earth, some energy bounces back into space, while the rest is absorbed by the oceans, land and atmosphere. This energy increases the temperature of the surface. The energy is then expelled into the atmosphere. Some of the energy travels through into space, and some is absorbed by greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. This excites the gas molecules, which creates heat and increases the temperature of the atmosphere, and the molecules emit energy. Some of this energy travels into space, but some makes it way back to the earth's surface which warms it up again. When fossil fuels are burned, carbon dioxide gas is released, which is a greenhouse gas. The more greenhouse gases there are in the atmosphere, the more heat is reflected back to earth rather than into space. If more heat is being reflected back to earth than normal, then over time the temperature will increase. Since 1885, the earths global temperature has risen about 0.85 degrees celsius, and is predicted to rise between 0.3 degrees (best case scenario) and 4.8 degrees (worst case scenario).
Global warming is having and is expected to have devastating effects on the planet. One effect is melting ice, especially at the poles. In 2012, the least amount of ice cover at the poles ever. Glaciers are also disappearing. The tasman glacier in New Zealand has receded 3.7km between 2000 and 2008. The melting ice has created a lake at the bottom, which was not at all present in 1973. Because of all of this ice melting, sea levels have risen by about 20cm since 1870, and are expected to keep rising. It is predicted that by the year 2100, that the sea level could have risen by 0.9 meters. Increased sea levels will flood a lot of low lying places, and could completely flood the cities of Kolkata and Mumbai, which together are home to more than 145 million people.
As CO2 levels have increased, the world's oceans have absorbed more of it, which will increase the acidity of the water. Since the 1700s, the ocean's acidity has increased by roughly 25 percent. The increased acidity can cause shells of animals that live in the ocean such as coral and shellfish to dissolve, which would kill them, and result in a very reduced population.
As CO2 levels have increased, the world's oceans have absorbed more of it, which will increase the acidity of the water. Since the 1700s, the ocean's acidity has increased by roughly 25 percent. The increased acidity can cause shells of animals that live in the ocean such as coral and shellfish to dissolve, which would kill them, and result in a very reduced population.
Global warming can also cause abnormal weather events. This could involve hotter than average summers, and colder than average winters. As global warming continues it will cause more severe storms and hurricanes, which will caused more destruction. Global warming is predicted to cause more frequent droughts, blizzards, heatwaves and generally caused changes in climate, such as different amounts of rain each year, changes in typical wind patterns and cause temperatures to vary from what is typical in a certain area at a certain time of year.
Global warming will impact on human health and agriculture. A warmer climate will cause more people to die of heat related deaths. Being exposed to these higher temperatures for too long can cause dehydration, heat stroke, respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. This will mainly affect people who can’t afford air conditioning, or work outside. The floods and droughts that global warming will make worse can reduce availability of food and water, if a location is cut off. If roads are impassable, then sick people will be unable to get to hospital. If electricity is cut off by these whether events, then people could die of hypothermia as no heating would be available. Effects of global warming or even the threat of these effects can cause mental health problems. For example, a natural disaster can cause stress, especially if friends and family get injured or killed, or personal property gets destroyed. This can cause long term mental health issues such as post traumatic stress disorder. Global warming has the potential to impact on all of the stages of food production, from being grown to being sold. Plants need carbon dioxide to grow, but not need that much carbon dioxide, and too much can affect the nutritional value of the plant. This diagram explains how climate change could affect agriculture.
To conclude, global warming is accelerated by the use of fossil fuels and it has many negative effects.
Air Pollution
When fossil fuels are burned, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides are released. With help from the heat and light of the sun, hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides react, and form ozone, which is more commonly known as smog. Not only does it look bad, it has negative effects on human health such as shortness of breath and lung damage. Smog is a problem in many cities around the earth, and Beijing has a lot of it. This is a picture of the city of beijing, and is hardly visible through the smog. It is common to wear a face mask to filter out pollutants most of the time. Carbon monoxide is a gas created by burning fossil fuels. Breathing in too much can cause headaches, damage to the body's tissues or even death. Carbon monoxide is colorless, odourless and tasteless so it is impossible for a human to detect. The primary source of carbon dioxide in cities is car's and trucks. Use of fossil fuels also creates particles such as soot, smoke and dust, which when inhaled can cause respiratory issues. These particles can also form acid rain.
When fossil fuels are burned, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides are released. With help from the heat and light of the sun, hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides react, and form ozone, which is more commonly known as smog. Not only does it look bad, it has negative effects on human health such as shortness of breath and lung damage. Smog is a problem in many cities around the earth, and Beijing has a lot of it. This is a picture of the city of beijing, and is hardly visible through the smog. It is common to wear a face mask to filter out pollutants most of the time. Carbon monoxide is a gas created by burning fossil fuels. Breathing in too much can cause headaches, damage to the body's tissues or even death. Carbon monoxide is colorless, odourless and tasteless so it is impossible for a human to detect. The primary source of carbon dioxide in cities is car's and trucks. Use of fossil fuels also creates particles such as soot, smoke and dust, which when inhaled can cause respiratory issues. These particles can also form acid rain.
Water Pollution
Water can become polluted in an oil spill out to sea, and affects all marine life that lives in the sea and on nearby coastlines. After an oil spill, it is usually unsafe to visit nearby coastlines or go swimming because of the toxic oil. After an oil spill, lots of fish and seabirds ingest the oil which kills them. Water can also be polluted during the production of coal. Coal contains a sulfur compound called pyrite, which when mixed with water it forms an acid, which is washed into near by waterways.
Water can become polluted in an oil spill out to sea, and affects all marine life that lives in the sea and on nearby coastlines. After an oil spill, it is usually unsafe to visit nearby coastlines or go swimming because of the toxic oil. After an oil spill, lots of fish and seabirds ingest the oil which kills them. Water can also be polluted during the production of coal. Coal contains a sulfur compound called pyrite, which when mixed with water it forms an acid, which is washed into near by waterways.
Effect on wildlife
A change in climate brought on by the use of fossil fuels can affect ecosystems in a variety of ways. I can caused disruptions in food chains, caused an increased spread of diseases and extinctions. Food chains could be disrupted by one animal or plant that another animals eats population being depleted. For example, decline of sea ice caused by warmer temperatures will affect polar bears, because ice algae that only grows in ice will have less area to grow. Polar bears don't eat ice algae, but zooplankton eat them, and arctic cod eat zooplankton, and seals eat arctic cod, and polar bears eat seals. A decline of one species in the food chain effects everything above it. Other food chains could be affected in a similar way, as climate change could make living conditions harder for one animal, reducing its population and leaving animals that eat it with less food.
A change in climate brought on by the use of fossil fuels can affect ecosystems in a variety of ways. I can caused disruptions in food chains, caused an increased spread of diseases and extinctions. Food chains could be disrupted by one animal or plant that another animals eats population being depleted. For example, decline of sea ice caused by warmer temperatures will affect polar bears, because ice algae that only grows in ice will have less area to grow. Polar bears don't eat ice algae, but zooplankton eat them, and arctic cod eat zooplankton, and seals eat arctic cod, and polar bears eat seals. A decline of one species in the food chain effects everything above it. Other food chains could be affected in a similar way, as climate change could make living conditions harder for one animal, reducing its population and leaving animals that eat it with less food.