Fossil fuel such as coal, oil, and natural gas has been used throughout the world for ages to power almost everything. However, researchers and environmentalists have been debating a lot over the use of fossil fuel and how long will it sustain as we are aware of the fact that it is a non-renewable source of energy.
Fossils are created by the decomposition of bio-life that existed on earth hundreds of millions of years ago which means that they are not available in infinite amount and need to be used sparsely because if we consume all the fossil fuel then we will have no other option than finding alternative sources.
Using fossil fuel has plenty of advantages such as it is highly efficient. We have been deriving energy from fossil fuel for years hence all the equipment and infrastructure are in place to extract them as well as transport easily via pipelines. But the fact that our over dependency on fossil has led to over usage of these fuels which has brought in light the disadvantages of using excessive fossil fuels and the need to find alternate sources of energy.
Disadvantages of Fossil Fuels:
Non-Renewable Sources:
As we have discussed how fossils are formed, we are aware that it is not available in abundance and once fully consumed, we will not be able to get it back for another hundreds of millions of years. Most of our cars still run on petrol and diesel hence if we use up these fuels, we will have to find an alternative soon.
Causes Environmental Degradation:
One of the most talked about the disadvantage of fossil fuel is the pollution caused by it as burning fossil fuel results in the emission of carbon dioxide adding to the carbon footprint and global warming.
Causing Pollution:
Burning of fossil fuel can result in the emission of harmful gases which leads to air pollution causing health damages to the people staying around the plant.
Issues with Coal Mines:
There are several issues with using coal as fuel. To transport the coal, a huge amount of them needs to be transported via truckload to the power generation plant. So, either the plant needs to be near the coal mines, or the coal needs to be transported across a long distance which means consumption of more fuel during the transport.
The other issue with coal mines is that it is dangerous for the workers as the dust in the mines can cause them serious health hazards.
Oil Spill:
Fossil fuels can damage the ocean if there is any oil spillage in the reservoir. It can kill the entire marine life and affect the birds in the area as well. Though it does not happen often still it is a possibility and if this does happen, the disastrous effect lasts for many years.
Rising Cost:
As the demand for fossil fuel increases, the costs keep going up. Fossil fuels are imported across various countries to fill the gap between demand and supply, but global politics and wars can highly affect the price of these fuels.
Using fossil fuel for energy generation or day to day use means adding more to the carbon footprint. Finding alternative sources of energy such as wind, sunlight, or biomass wood pellets from https://www.xn--dkbrnde-pxa.dk/traepiller/ which are relatively cleaner should be encouraged to use more so that we do not need to rely on the non-renewable sources of energy.
