Coal: older than the dinosaurs, we call it a fossil fuel because it was created by the remains of plants that existed many thousands of years ago. Used widely to create energy, the mining of coal is an extremely harmful process, and during the mining, transporting and burning of coal,chemicals such as sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide are released. Contributing to acid rain, smog, mercury and other heavy metals, nitrogen oxide can cause neurological and developmental damage in people and in animals. Then there’s fly ash and bottom ash, two types of residue that are created when power plants burn coal. Methane is also released during the mining process.
Oil: mostly made up of carbon and hydrogen (known ashydrocarbon), oil began to form millions of years ago, and once mined, it is refined and separated into different makeups that go towards producing several different kinds of fuel and oil products. The mining of oil is extremely harmful to the environment, as is fracking and oil wells, as both destroy habitats and introduce hazardous chemicals into surface water, groundwater and soil. Exploring and drilling for oil are equally as damaging, as they disturb land and harm delicate, marine ecosystems. Seismic techniques used to explore for oil under the ocean’s surface may interfere with fish and marine mammals, and drilling for oil on land often requires the extensive clearing of land.
Coal and oil for industrial use
Coal and oil have been in existence for centuries, and countries all over the world continue to rely upon it to produce energy for technology in many different industries, despite knowing and understanding the risks it poses to the environment and our planet as a whole.
However, it’s important to remember that there are many other more sustainable ways to power machinery and electricity using methods that minimize their impact on the environment and our health. In fact, some of these methods – such as solar, wind and geothermal power – have been around for as long as we’ve been using fossil fuels for energy, if not longer.
But, while renewable energy is growing in popularity and many more companies are adopting sustainable ways of powering themselves, a lack of funding remains the biggest barrier to these methods being adopted globally.
Solar: one of the most accessible form of renewable energy
Solar energy has become a trusted renewable energy source in recent decades, mainly due to its ease of access from virtually any location, and businesses as well as individual homeowners, are beginning to use it to power their factories and homes. Without harming natural ecosystems or resources, solar systems can help provide electricity and power to people in all kinds of environments, and if you’d like to discover more about using solar power to fulfil your energy needs, there are plenty of opportunities to do so wherever you are in the U.S.
Solar power, especially when partnered with wind energy, has the potential to provide the entire world with its electricity needs in just a few years, eliminating the need for the harmful burning of coal or drilling for oil, altogether.
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