The accrued benefits of fossil fuels in the world economy are exceptional and irrefutable. However, the burning of fossil fuels has profound effects on the immediate environment and personal health. Fossil fuels are resources used to generate energy or electricity after combustion. The commonly used fossil fuels include oil, natural gas, and coal (Maroto Song, & Soong, 2012). The production of fossil fuels over the last three decades has faced heavy criticism and blame for excessive emissions of greenhouse gas that has led to a drastic rise in global warming. Various empirical studies affirm that fossil fuels are highly composed of hydrocarbons and carbon that cause pollution of the air and water. All the processes incorporated in the extraction, production, and even consumption of fossil fuels have hazardous implications for the environment. In recent years, the consumption rate of fossil fuels has increased tremendously, putting the environment at more risk, including the existing biodiversity. This essay provides a critical analysis of the effect of fossil fuel in the environment.
Coal
Coal is among the most utilized fossil fuel across the globe. It is classified into four distinct types based on carbon content, namely anthracite, litantrace, peat, and lignite. Globally, coal constitutes almost 25% of total energy production. The largest sources of coal are situated in the US, China, Australia, Russia, and China. The US produces a considerable amount of coal that exceeds 1 billion tons from its sources, including Kentucky, West Virginia, Wyoming, and Pennsylvania. For example, the production of 450 million tons of coal is from one source in the US known as Wyoming. Other western countries generate fewer tons of coal that do not outweigh the production from Wyoming. China falls in the fourth position in the production of coal, with total production reaching 1.4 million tones.
Coal mining has a detrimental effect on human health and the environment. Moreover, it disrupts the initial use of land, including agriculture, grazing, hunting, and lumbering, among others (Zhengfu et al., 2010). Mining coal alters the land topography as well as destroying plant pushes, soil, and natural habitats for animals. In particular, surface mining converts a fertile land to a wasteland. Underground mining might seem less harmful. However, its damages are aggressive and dangerous to both living creatures and human beings, including alteration of the physical environment through sudden down warping. For example, German lost a thousand homes because of underground mining, which collapsed, triggering an earthquake in the Saar region. The phenomenon caused further destruction of property.
The impact caused by coal extraction is direct though redistributing land and altering the uniqueness of a particular habitat. The areas destroyed through coal mining are unable to provide animal shelter or even sustain vegetation growth. On the other hand, fish communities have trouble in their natural habitats because of dumped chemicals and sediments into the rivers (Li et al., 2015). The dumped sediments bury the spawning territories, bar light infiltration, and alter water temperatures. These effects impede the reproduction and growth of fish as well as cause fish death. Besides, the deposited sediments create new habitat for other invasive species. Pollution caused by coal takes thousands of years to recover due to high concentrations of heavy metals, high alkalinity, and high acidity.
The method used in the extraction of coal includes surface and underground mining. Underground mining involves scraping or digging the ground surface to extract coal (Shahbaz, Tiwari, & Nasir, 2013). Furthermore, it is the most appropriate method used in the extraction of solid fossil fuels. This method poses a great threat to human safety, especially coal miners who may suffer from severe injuries while working. Between 2009 and 2013, the US had fatalities totaling up to 77, including the incident that occurred in the coalmines in West Virginia that killed over 26 miners. Besides, coal mining causes health complications such as disorders associated with chronic health and pneumoconiosis.
Underground coal mining can lead to a gradual subside or collapse of coal mines, which alters subsurface and surface water flows. The abandoned mines may start wildfires, especially when left open. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), abandoned and active coalmines are the sole reason for acidity in the drainage system. This is because; rainwater may flow into the mines dissolving metals with high acidity. Consequently, the acidic water in the drainage system has a devastating impact on plants, animals, and humans.
Surface mining of coal involves the removal of the overlying soil to gain access to the coal underneath, thus encroaching local environments. In areas composed of thick vegetation such as mountaintop, surface mining causes vast destruction on vegetation by stripping tress from hilltops and peaks as well as blasting the ground from below by using explosives. For example, 1.5 million acres of the Appalachia landscape is distorted with the increasing extraction of coal. The process involved in surface mining has both long-term and short-term effects on the environment. Short-term effects include typical dumping of excess soil and rock into the adjacent streams and valleys diverting streams and altering natural ecosystems. The dumped deposits also increase sedimentation in the rivers affecting the flow and chemistry of water as well as affecting aquatic life. Long-term implications include abandoning coal sites with poor soil that can only support the growth of exotic grass (Pandey, Agrawal, & Singh, 2016). In addition, the rebounding of buried valleys is difficult, and it takes a more extended period to recover.
Surface mining has a direct impact on the safety and health of the communities living close to the coalmines. This includes human triggered events such as flash floods, landslides, and mudslides, among others. Based on the chemical composition of the coalmines, some chemical is very toxic such as manganese, iron, read, arsenic, hydrogen sulfide, and selenium. According to the study carried out by Harvard University, chemicals from coalmines may get into the water streams that are used for consumption and domestic use. These chemicals have a link to kidney, lung, and cardiovascular diseases in humans. In addition, they contribute towards preterm births and reduced birth rates.
Air pollution from coal comprises two primary sources; they include methane emissions at coalmines and emissions from a particular matter (PM). Methane is ranked as the second and major contributing gas to global warming after carbon dioxide because it possesses the characteristics of trapping heat. Methane emissions are more prone to deep underground mining that escapes from ventilation created during the mining process or through portals and shafts. The PM emissions emerge from coal mines located in arid regions with frequent winds that create huge amounts of particular matter (PM). In the western countries, in every stage of strip mining of coals, they involve blasting and utilization of draglines in the removal of overburden materials. In this regard, the equipment used and the diesel trucks are the main sources that emit particular matter. The emissions of particular matter cause respiratory damage and could even lead to death.
There is a concern about the quality of air in areas that have excessive exploitation of coal that release dust particles into the atmosphere. The activities involved in the extraction, processing, and transportation produce dust emissions. Through a series of observations done on coal sites, much of the reported dust emissions are from coal trains and stockpiles of the coal terminal. Dust from coal trains is due to coal particle leakages from the doors of the loaded wagons, wind erosion on the surfaces of the loaded transit, and dust deposited on wagon bogies and sills.
Electric plants powered by coal produce ash in huge amounts with a high concentration of calcium oxide. The ashes have an impact on nearby waters, especially when they fall direct to water reservoirs. The ash chemicals react with water forming sodium bicarbonate, including other soluble salts. On interaction with magnesium and calcium, the chemicals convert hard water to soft water in the streams. The application of this water in irrigation projects significantly affects the pH balance of the soil by turning it to alkaline. Alkaline sodic soils have a low infiltration rate and, therefore, unfavorable for agricultural purposes.
The effect caused by dust emissions from coal sites is limited to the areas that are at close proximity to the loading terminals and railways. The generated dust remains on suspension in the air based on the levels of concentration and volume of dust emissions. This also takes into account the intensity of activities carried in the coal sites. Dust emissions in the coal sites cause amenity and health issues among people depending on the particle size, exposure duration, and concentration levels.
The sludge waste from washed coal is a threat to both human life and the environment. Sledge impoundments continue to grow with the increase of coal extraction. Over 125 people were killed in West Virginia caused by the break of an impoundment that released a coal flood. Another instance of impoundment broke in Kentucky, destroying homes, contaminating drinking water, and causing death to aquatic life.
Crude Oil
Oil is the main source of global energy, especially in the transportation sectors. Crude oil is refined to create petroleum products such as fuel, paraffin, petrochemicals, tar, plastics, among others. The benefits affiliated to oil production are overwhelming in the world economy to the point where there is the negligence of the adverse effects of oil consumption on the environment. Environmental pollution emerging from petroleum continues to be a challenge in all countries across the globe. Various studies provided that petroleum products harm the soils, air, and marine water.
Crude oil contains organic compounds, such as include heterocyclic compounds, heavy metals, and hydrocarbons (Almeda et al., 2014). The hydrocarbons contained in include oil are of different structures and have varying molecular weights. Examples of hydrocarbons include waxes, asphaltenes, bitumens, resins, and weighty tars. They are also composed of branched and straight chains, condensed and single rings, including aromatic rings portrayed by monocyclic (xylene, benzene, ethylbenzene, and toluene). Lastly, the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) form part of the hydrocarbons; they include phenanthrene, anthracene, and naphthalene.
Oil toxicity depends on a number of factors, such as its characteristics and composition (Marinescu et al., 2011). Recent developments have changed the exploration and production of crude oil due to the raised environmental issues. However, oil production and exploration dynamics have not addressed the controversies going in cycles regarding safety on the environment. Oil processing, refining, and transportation have a harmful effect on the environment.
Hydraulic fracking is a method used in the extraction of crude oil since the 1940s. Due to the increase in demand for crude oil, the hydraulic fracking method was modified by including a surge to boost hydraulic action. Hydraulic actions use a huge volume of water in the extraction process, causing competition for freshwater with living organisms. There is a need for protection of groundwater due to the consumption rates and disposal of toxic chemicals in the reserved groundwater.
The contamination of soil with hydrocarbons has an impact on soil organisms. Various studies proclaim that oil spillage on the ground surface coats the soil from receiving adequate aeration and thus causing suffocation of the living microorganisms in the soil. The effect of PAHs is much felt by earthworms whereby their chances of survival are minimized, and their reproduction rate is significantly lowered. Furthermore, oil pollution alters the physical properties of the soil. The pore spaces in the soil are clogged with oil, reducing water infiltration rate as well as aeration of the soil. Subsequently, chances of plant growth on such soils are almost zero percent because of the level of toxic chemicals that burn plants as they grow. Soil aggregates containing a higher content of oil substances made of aromatic hydrocarbons have resistance to water.
Emissions during crude oil production and consumption of petroleum products such as fuel are a major contributing factor to global warming. The emissions are composed of nitrogen oxides, Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC), methane, hydrogen sulfide, sulfur oxide, xylene, benzene carbon dioxide, and carbon monoxide, among others. Carbon oxide causes the thinning of the ozone layer paving the way for harmful ultra-violet rays that cause skin cancer on humans. In addition, a huge accumulation of carbon dioxide and methane in the atmosphere creates a greenhouse effect that increases atmospheric temperature beyond the normal levels. The global warming effect has led to a decrease in ice coverage to the northern and southern poles.
Consequently, the polar bears that use these environments as their habitats are at risk and may soon reduce in number or go extinct. In addition, it has led to climate change across the world. For example, the Saharan desert in Africa has increased, and more vast land is occupied by bare land. The increase in hurricanes, floods, and storms are a result of climate change.
Oil spills on the sea cause damage to marine living creatures. The marine environment is at risk with the increase of oil transportation by the sea. Cases of oil spillage continue to take place with the highest oil spillage-taking place between the 1980s and 2000s that led to the loss of 23000 tons of oil. Immediately oil spills on the surface of the sea, it spreads faster, influenced by water current and wind. At the same time, the oi undergoes both physical and chemical changes. Oil dispersed on the surface of the sea causes toxicity on fish, including other living marine creatures (Gong et al., 2014). The sea invertebrate, such as the amphipod populations are highly sensitive and vulnerable to oil pollution. For example, in 1978, the oil spill at the Morlaix Bay killed almost all the amphipods that dominated the region. It took ten years for the amphipods to recover to their initial population.
Other studies show that, after oil spills, cleaning up the sections affected is a tedious task, and the invertebrates exposed to oil toxins such as the Eurydice and Scoleleoius Squamata reduced in population and were unable to recover for a long time. The reason for their incapability to recover is due to the effect caused by oil chemicals in their reproduction as well as the unconducive environment to reproduce by the existing patches of oil spills. Coral reefs provide habitats for some living marine creatures (Farrington, 2014). Oil spills can cause harm to these organisms because of the rapid deterioration of coral reefs caused by a change in anthropogenic pressures and the environment.
Oil spillage subjects risks on seabirds. The incidences of bird causalities were reported in South Africa more, especially on African penguins after an accidental oil spillage. The number of penguins in South Africa reduced drastically after the event. Another example is the oil spill that took place at Alaska Gulf that killed more than 35,000 seabirds, and the population left were only 1,500 seabirds.
In 1986, the Caribbean entrance had a crude oil spillage of over 8.5 million liters that touched seagrasses, coral reefs, and mangroves. The invertebrates, algae, intertidal mangroves and seagrasses that were fully covered died later. The studies conducted in the same region assert that the red mangrove seedlings did not recover and therefore did not generate new leaves. The entire Thalassiat estudinum ceased to exist. However, some species survived later on after the oil spillage. One of the species that survived is the subtidal Thalassia.
Tanker breakups account for at most 10% of the environmental pollution by spilling petroleum on the ground surface and into the rivers. The spilled petroleum is disastrous to the immediate surroundings, whereby it can explosively start fire and even cause death to people and living organisms that at close proximity to the incident. Casualties caused by tanker explosion have been reported in Nigeria and Kenya, where several people were killed. The industrial wastes and engine oils cause soil pollution.
The production of plastics from petroleum poses a global challenge. Currently, plastic products are cheap and are widely available for use (LI, Tse & Fok, 2016).People use plastics on a daily basis, and they get rid of them by disposing of them carelessly. Disposed plastics into the environment releases chemicals such as benzene, styrene, acetone, trichloroethane, and methylene chloride. In addition, the burning of plastic products emits gases such as VOC, sulfur oxides, methanol, nitrous oxides, and ethylene oxide (Sigler, 2014). In the world market, plastics are flooded in almost every commodity bought. They are used in creating bottles, plastic chairs, toys, plastic beads, soap covers, traveling bags, cups, plates, vehicles, and many other objects. The underpinning factor for producing a variety of products is the fact that plastics have diversified polymers and higher versatility properties. Most of these commodities are deposited on the ground, marine habitats, and freshwaters.
Plastic pollution can damage to the terrestrial environment and subsequently get into the aquatic environment. Dumped plastics are non-biodegradable, and therefore they remain on the ground for very many years (North & Halden, 2013). Studies reveal that fibers of the synthetic polymer are detectable after five years. Plastics with chlorine can leach toxic chemicals in the soil. This affects water seepage into the ground, thus reducing the levels of groundwater. According to Gregory (2009), plastic wastes amounting to over 166 million tones are still present in the oceans, and over 8.2 million tons of plastic wastes are deposited into the ocean annually. Plastic degradation in the water releases toxic chemicals such as BPA and polystyrene, causing water contamination.
Natural Gas
Apart from oil and coal, various studies claim that natural gas is an alternative source of energy that is environmentally friendly. The gas is odorless and colorless. Furthermore, natural gas provides sufficient energy for heating, generating electricity and cooking among other necessities (Linn, Muehlenbachs & Wang, 2014). Despite being one of the fossil fuels, it outweighs oil and coal as being a renewable source of energy. Natural gas emits a lower amount of greenhouse gasses when compared with oil and coal. However, critics have emerged regarding environmental impact in the stages of extraction, processing, and transportation.
Natural gas is a type of fossil gas composed of hydrocarbons. Upon processing, other gases are extracted from it, including nitrogen, ethane, propane, butane, and carbon dioxide, among others (Burnham et al., 2012). The amount of carbon dioxide emitted by natural gas is significantly low when compared with coal and oil. However, the generated amount of methane contributes to the total amount of methane produced from other sources such as the combustion of coal and petroleum.
The installation of new structures for drilling of the gas puts the local ecosystems at risk by fragmenting habitats belong to other living organisms and causing migration of animals. When gas and oil operators develop a site by clearing the region to create roads and room for pipeline they end up causing erosion as well as depositing dangerous pollutants to the nearby streams (Fontenot et al., 2013). The toxic substances thrown into the rivers cause water contamination. The living creatures in the rivers may end up dying from the toxins.
The extraction of natural gas is also accompanied by hydraulic fracking that has a potential effect on the environment by increasing river sedimentation, soil erosion, aquatic contamination, reduced surface runoff, diversion of streams, habitat fragmentation, and contamination of the soil from spilling of chemicals (Ladd, 2014).. The amount of water used during hydraulic fracking lowers the levels of the groundwater. Contamination of groundwater with fracking chemicals, VOC and methane are documented in Pennsylvania and Ohio. Another instance of groundwater contamination is triggered by fractures caused by the operators of gas and oil (Entrekin et al., 2011). The fractures enable the gas to come into direct contact with the groundwater supplies. The contaminated water is harmful for both domestic and human consumption. The development of unconventional gas also poses risks of contamination to surface water through chemical spills and leaks.
The research done by EPA established that hydraulic fracking uses over 1000 additives of chemicals, including scale removers, bactericides, and grease, among others. Certain chemicals used in hydraulic action may have a mild effect but progressive damage to the environment. The only identified harmful chemicals are due to their effects on the environment. However, other chemicals may take a long time to realize their effect on the environment. If the chemical additives are mismanaged, the estimate of the likely damage to the environment is disastrous.
Gas leakage from the pipes has become a problem in the transportation of natural gas. One of the reports provided by Edward Markey reveals that the companies processing natural gas in 2011 released natural gas into the atmosphere, amounting to over 70 billion cubic feet (Bcf). The emissions of the gas were equal to the amount that Maine State uses annually. However, in 2012, the gas companies responded by replacing fault pipes made up of bare steel or iron. The emitted gas to the atmosphere relatively increases the effect of global warming across the world,
Purposeful emissions through flaring and venting have additional harm to the environment. Venting refers to the act of releasing gas to the atmosphere directly in normal handling and extraction (Howarth, Santoro & Ingraffea, 2011). Previously, methane gas was a waste in oil drilling, and therefore it was vented in large quantities into the air. Therefore, between 1974 and 1988, the amount of natural gas in the atmosphere exceeded 132 Bcf. In the modern-day, oil fields do not require methane during the extraction and would instead vent it than storing it. Flaring is a standard method used in burning off the unwanted gas in the oil fields. Flaring causes the emission of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. In addition, flaring does not burn the gas completely leading to methane and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) pollution.
Other compounds and hydrocarbons present in flared and vented gas, including VOC, are likely to alter the quality of the air by increasing regional haze. The gas and oil industry is on blame for the production of VOC in Colorado and Los Angeles. VOC pollution causes poor quality of air, which triggers heart diseases. Another problem associated with flares is the production of black carbon that also causes global warming. The effect caused by black carbon is similar to the effects of methane, whereby they reinforce the greenhouse effect by trapping heat.
Conclusion
The commonly used fossil fuels across the globe include coal, oil, and natural gas. Each of these fossils have a significant impact to the environment. Emissions from the fossil fuels are catastrophic and have far-reaching consequences on both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. In every stage of fossil production has an impact on the environment including from the extraction point, processing, transportation and consumption. As revealed in the above discussion, the extraction of fossil fuels have immediate impact on natural habitats including displacement of animals and plants as well as contamination with the use chemicals. The damage caused at the extraction point are almost similar for all fossil fuels however, the intensity of the damages caused is based on the methods used in the extraction. For example, hydraulic fracking used in the extraction of both oil and gas releases chemicals to both underground and surface water.
Consequently, aquatic life and microorganisms in the soil are likely to die or reduce in numbers due to the disturbances caused by the chemicals. If the use of fossil fuels is unmanaged, there will be more impact on the environment, such as global warming, extinction of endangered species, escalation of heart diseases, and loss of biodiverse, among others. Therefore, there is a need to respond very fast in mitigating the current issues relating to the extraction, processing, transportation, and consumption of fossil fuels. This can be done through reinforcing international laws, as well as individual states, should make an effort to address the matter.
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