Ok, so fossil fuels have gotten a pretty bad wrap deservingly so in the
past decade as the planet warms and as CO2 emissions increase. The planet is
becoming more and more noticeably in peril due to the increase in global temperatures. Since global warming is always in
the headlines because of the emphasis on CO2 emissions, I was curious about other
impacts that fossil fuels has on our planet aside from the CO2 emissions and the impact on climate change. Are
there any other ways that fossil fuels harm the environment aside from the
painfully obvious? As it turns out CO2 emissions is only one of many
detrimental effects associated with fossil fuels. Below I chose to highlight
three of the lesser known effects that fossil fuels have on the environment.
11.)
Earthquakes
Yes that is correct. Earthquakes and specifically earthquakes induced by the pumping of high pressure fracking fluid
into the earth’s crust in an attempt to locate and harvest the stores of
natural gas hidden there can cause earthquakes. In this search for precious natural gas, according to
the USGS,
the mid-western United States is experiencing more and more numbers of
earthquakes of magnitude 3 or higher. In fact there were over 1,000 recorded in
the year 2014 with the largest reaching a magnitude of 5.6 in Prague, Oklahoma
which was large enough to reportedly cause damage.
22.)
Strip Mining
This effect of fossil fuels is a little
more known than the earthquakes caused by natural gas drilling. Strip
mining is a mining technique used to harvest coal where layer after layer
of earth is removed until the coal seam is reached. Once reached the mining
company will follow it until it runs off the property or runs out completely.
The environmental impacts of this mining technique are often tremendous. Removal
of entire swaths of forests are obviously detrimental to the surrounding
ecosystem and the local species. Other environmental effects of strip mining
include water drainage pollution (introduction of iron, manganese, and
suspended solids) as well as the destruction of natural topography and wildlife
habitat.
33.)
Acid Rain
Acid rain sounds like something out of
sci-fi movie but it is an unfortunate reality when it comes to burning fossil
fuels. When fossil fuels are burned (primarily coal) more than just the
greenhouse gas CO2 is emitted, but also SO2 (sulfur di-oxide) and
NOx (nitrogen oxides). When these two chemicals are mixed with water, like
in the atmosphere, they become sulfuric acid and nitric acid. These acids then
fall to the ground in the form of precipitation in a phenomenon known as acid
rain. Normal rain has a pH of 5.6 (slightly acidic) while acid rain usually
falls with a pH of between 4.2 and 4.4. When this acidic rain washes into
nearby waterways it tends to leach heavy metals, such as aluminum, from the
surrounding clay. This introduction
of aluminum into the system creates an imbalance that many aquatic plants
and animals cannot tolerate. Also if the pH in a waterway drops to low, usually
around pH 5.0, the ecosystem may be unsuitable for many of the species that
once called it home.
So yes fossil fuels is a big contributor to climate change, but they also have a host of other cons to extracting and using them. Let's end the use of fossil fuels.
So yes fossil fuels is a big contributor to climate change, but they also have a host of other cons to extracting and using them. Let's end the use of fossil fuels.
