Decreasing Fossil Fuels Essay Example for Free

Decreasing Fossil Fuels Essay Over the past century America has continuously used its own fossil fuel resources and paid handsomely for additional supplies, in the race to stay current with modern technology and life .The possession of this resource has made the United States a very prosperous and powerful nation. The same fossil fuels that’s has made America such a powerhouse are the same that are damaging the environment and economy they have enabled. It is imperative that we decrease our dependency on fossil fuels, or it is inevitable that our economy and environment will suffer tremendously. With these fuels being such a crucial and essential part of Americas livelihood and status, it brings us to the question .What are fossil fuels? According to the Gale Encyclopedia of Science: Fossil fuels are buried deposits of petroleum, coal, peat, natural gas, and other carbon-rich organic compounds derived from the dead bodies of plants and animals that lived millions of years ago. Over long periods of time, pressure generated by overlaying sediments and from within the Earth has concentrated and modified these materials into valuable energy sources for it human purpose. Fossil fuels currently provide about 90 % of all technological energy used in the world. They provide the power to move vehicles, heat living spaces, provide light, cook our food, transmit and process information and carry out a wide variety of industrial processes (Thomson). There are countless marvels and miracles that we can list that came from the dawn of industrialization in the 21st century that the abundan ce of fossil fuels has provided. If the flow of fossil fuels to the United States were ever cut off, the economy would come to a halt. There would be no way to transport the products that factories produce. There would be no way for people to drive to work. The whole economy, and in fact the whole of western society, currently depends on fossil fuels (Graetz 198). Fossil fuels are the leading source of our economic advancement and can eventually be the downfall. With the great dependency that our economy has on these fuels it is important that we talk about the economic issues and threats that this unhealthy dependency causes. Each day the United States spends about $2 billion buying oil and loses another $4 billion indirectly to the macroeconomic cost of oil dependence, the microeconomic cost of oil price volatility ,and the cost of keeping military forces ready for intervention (Lovins). This dependency to foreign oil supplies is causing unstable security threats for the nation. We are competing with other importing counties that are expanding their economies which put us at a great risk for conflict in the Persian Gulf and terrorism. If the oil rich countries that we depend on wanted to raise their prices we would have no choice but to comply or it could but a halt to our economy .This kind of dependency is extremely unhealthy for our nation and our economy. This creates economic risk because we do not have control over the supply and we depend on it almost exclusively for our productivity. Doing business with politically unstable countries like Saudi Arabia and Iraq, can make us vulnerable to terrorism and threats from other nations. This continuing dependency on fossil fuels has the potential to put a halt to our economy .This unhealthy dependency can also cause security threats like terrorism from politically unstable nations. With these disastrous effects of fuel dependency it is clear that something must be done .It is imperative that we decrease our d ependency on fossil fuels, or it is inevitable that our economy will suffer tremendously. The economic threats are not the only factors that warrant for immediate reduction of the fuel usage environmental factors play an overwhelming hazardous proportion. It has been recognized worldwide that the utilization of an enormous amount of fossil fuels has created various adverse effects on the environment. Every day in America we take for granted the fresh drinking water, fresh air to breathe and the beauty of nature. We will lose these natural blessings with the continuing use of fossil fuels. These fuels are having jeopardous effects on our ecosystem. The extraction of these fuels on land degrades the land .It destroys the habitat .The process of drilling, extracting and processing fossil fuels is not entirely efficient and creates waste .This sometimes results in harmful by-products entering the ground. (Rabl and Spadaro).It can make it unsustainable .It destroys the habitat of animals that live on the sites. Land extraction is not worse of two evils. Extraction in marine or wetland environments has had severe impacts (Cleveland, Hall and Kaufmann 357).Oil spilled on water spreads out and is carried out by water currents. This contaminated water can be ingested by animals or worse maybe even humans. It has the propensity to clog appendages, body coverings and membranes of marine animals. Transporting fossil fuels can cause damage as well. Pipelines carrying oil, for example, can rupture and spread pollutants over a large area of land. In areas of chemical spills, vegetation can be killed and unable to be grown for many years. Toxins contaminating the ground may directly affect crops and the habitats of animals (358). Another effect of the fuel usage is air pollution. According to Ayhan Demirbas air pollution can cause health problems and it can also damage the environment and property. One of the main air pollutants that helps exceed the air quality standard or AQS is Carbon monoxide or (CO).Co is produced by the incomplete burning of carbon-based fuels including petrol and diesel which are produced by fossil fuels. Nitrogen oxide or (NOx) can cause smoke and acid rain. Nitrogen oxide can also make children susceptible to respiratory diseases. The acid rain occurs when the sulfur dioxide and nitrogen from the burning fuels combine with water vapor in the atmosphere and fall as rain, snow or fog (Lovins). The acid rain causes extensive damage to water, forests, soil resources, human health and it can also corrode buildings .The international scope of the problem has led to the signing of international agreement s on the limitation of nitrogen dioxide emissions (Kunstler). The burning of coal from human activities have led to increased atmospheric concentrations of a number of greenhouse gases ,including carbon dioxide ,methane, nitrous oxide ,CFC’s ,and ozone in the lower part of the atmosphere( Demirbas ). These gases have opened the door for all kinds of health problems like respiratory diseases, damage to kidneys, cardiovascular and nervous system. â€Å"Most scientists consider it likely that if the atmospheric concentrations of C02 and other so-called greenhouse gases continue to rise, the earth’s climate will become warmer† (Cline) .These gases add to the naturally already occurring atmospheric gases increasing the overall temperature of earth. An increasing temperature on the planet can have disastrous effects in the long term. Widespread changes to earth’s climate would be expected to cause extreme weather and storms, massive ecological changes, and the extinction of many species. Reducing the amount of fossil fuels would considerably reduce the amount of carbon dioxide produced, as well as the level of pollutants which causes acid rain. The extensive use of fossil fuels has caused such catastrophic damages to our environment. With all of these overwhelming hazardous effects they create it is imperative that we decrease out dependency on fossil fuels, or it is inevitable that our environment will suffer tremendously. The current dominance of fossil fuels as an energy source reflects their convenience of use and relative ease of production in comparison with other energy sources (Lincoln). No other energy sources, match fuels for power, versatility, transportability or ease of storage. James Howard Kunstler describes our continual use of these fuels best in his book The Long Emergency when he said: Oil is an amazing substance. It stores a tremendous amount of energy per weight and volume .It is easy to transport .It stores easily at regular air temperature in unpressurized metal tanks, and it can sit there indefinitely without degrading †¦. . It is flammable but has proven to be safe to handle with a modest amount of care by people with double digit IQs .It can be refined by straightforward distillation into many grades of fuel. There are many reasons why we continue to use fossil fuel .It is more affordable and cheaper to use, they pack more energy, it is easy to transport, it is easy to use and has many uses and it is readily available. Even with all of these more efficient reasons to use these fuels it is still does not outweigh the harm that they cause to the environment or threats to the economy. The cause a wide range of problems like acid rain, global warming and security threats the list goes on .We must cut down on the tremendous volumes of use. Fossil fuels are natural substances made deep within the Earth from remains of animals and plants over time, heat and pressure turned these decomposing remains into fuels which release energy when burned. These fuels have taken hundreds and millions of years to make this are not a slow process. We are using such a large amount of this energy as if the supply is never ending .One day these supplies are going to be exhausted, and there will be a need for an alternative source if our economy and environment are going to survive. One possible solution to decrease the fossil fuel damage is to look into renewable resource like hydrogen energy is one possible choice. Hydrogen is harvested by a process called electrolysis, which separates the hydrogen atoms and oxygen atoms in water. Hydrogen energy could be an endless resource once a more economical way of producing the hydrogen gas is discovered. When using hydrogen fuel cell energy the only byproduct would be water. Hydrogen clearly provides the potential for huge energy and environmental improvements. Engineer Harry T. Roman states: If fuel cells could be used in our homes with hydrogen, Imagine the possibility of being able to generate both your Electricity and heating needs right in your basement, with Little or no pollution. And are there some bonuses, like no More electric power outages when storms come blowing Through, no fuel delivery interruptions, and no potential terrorist Threats to our utility systems? While other alternative energies provide short-term solutions, only hydrogen presents long-term benefits that will reduce pollution and U.S. dependence on foreign oil. With the possibility of cleaner air, fewer security threats because they would be produced in the U.S. and the supply would be endless and readily available it seems that this could be a potential alternative. It is imperative that we decrease our dependency on fossil fuels, or it is inevitable that our economy and environment will suffer tremendously. The uses of these fuels have caused security threats from dealing with politically unstable nations. It also puts our economy under the control of these foreign nations. If they would chose to increase their prices it could put a halt to our economy and way of life. Large use of these fuels has also had devastating effects on the environment. The burning of these fuels has created acid rain, global warming, contamination of water supplies and various human illnesses. If this new modern lifestyles of technology mobility, and industrial efficiency is to be sustained there will have to be changes in our energy consumption and source. One proposed alternative is hydrogen energy. This energy source is made from a process called electrolysis. It emits virtually no pollution and is renewable so the supply is unlimited. It will be produced locally so the terrorist threats would be diminished.