There are many important quantities that determine the advantages and disadvantages of an energy source including the environmental footprint, energy cost and the availability of the source/energy supply. It is quite difficult to identify the best alternative out of the different energy sources in terms of the cost because the cost of a specific source varies constantly. For example, oil market price is subject to supply/demand balance and to the geopolitical situation. On the other hand, renewable energy cost is decreasing due to the extensive researches are being done in this field aimed to utilize renewable energy more efficiently. 4.1 Environmental Footprint Environment has received a lot of attention in the recent years as concerns are growing over the deteriorating condition of the environment. Many calls have been made to take immediate action to address environmental problems like global warming, overexploitation of natural resources and the increasing environmental pollution. Each energy source has different impacts on the environment including air, water, soil, etc. • Coal Coal mining …show more content…
Environmental damage occurs throughout the stages of exploration, production, refining, transportation and end use consumption. Potential impacts include water contamination due to effluent of wash and cooling water discharges, seepage from storage and waste tanks, discharges of water effluents rich in inorganic salts without appropriate treatment and water contamination of oil spills which could be very catastrophic such as the incident of The Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in year 2010 and the oil spill resulting from the Gulf War in 1991. Also, this industry adds a considerable amount of NOx, SOx and particulate emissions and largely contribute to the soil and groundwater contamination resulting from the different chemical compounds and the produced
Introduction (Hook…. need to think this through better) The Keystone Pipeline has been debated for sometime now. Why is it so controversial? Many worry that it will intrude on property rights, while others believe that it will be a danger to the environment.
There are large amounts of environmental issues that can be caused because of this pipeline, which mostly affects
"Hydraulic fracturing, the process of extracting oil or gas by forcing fluids into the ground to fracture shale rocks, at the Eagle Ford Shale Play has produced more oil and natural gas but at the cost of environmental hazards and affect human health. The part of the process that creates the environmental hazards is the fracking fluids that are forced into the ground. For each fracking job, these fluids are comprised of 1 to 8 million gallons of water and 40,000 gallons of chemicals. Some of the 600 chemical carcinogens and toxins in the fracking fluids are lead, radium, uranium, mercury, methanol, hydrochloric acid, ethylene glycol, and formaldehyde. Once the fracking job is done, about 50 to 70 percent of fracking liquids are left in open
There have been over 1,000 documented cases of water contamination next to areas of gas drilling. This Type of pollution cause many health issues for human such as rashes, stomach or liver illness, respiratory problems and Neurological affects. In some extreme cases the pollution can cause death to some humans. Fracking has huge consequential hazards to the public health and the environment, and many have long term effects. In June 2014 the Public Health published a review of the public health impacts of exposures to chemical and radioactive pollutants, the result of shale gas extraction in the UK was based on the examination of literature and data from countries where fracking had already occurred.
The environment, in which fracturing sites are located, go from clean landscapes to factory wastelands. Bruce McKenzie Everett, a professor of international business at the Fletcher School, states that “There are air pollution problems and earthquakes from the deep-well injections of the wastewater into the gas-producing shale, as well as significant global warming emissions.” On a superficial level, this obviously shows that fracking aids the deterioration of the environment, but will also leave lasting effects on the land and the people residing in it; earthquakes do not make for safe surroundings and air pollution leads to external bodily irritations and possible respiratory disease -- these all contribute to the list of negative externalities. A primary dispute over the allowance of fracking is its water contamination. An article by Think Process states, “Scientists have found elevated levels of cancer-causing chemicals in the drinking water in North Texas’ Barnett Shale region — where a fracking boom has sprouted more than 20,000 oil and gas wells….
1. Introduction In 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil platform spit nearly five million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, making it the largest oil spill in history. The 1989 oil spill surpassed Exxon Valdez's oil spill in 1989 as the largest oil spill ever seen in US-controlled waters and the Ixtoc I oil spill of 1979 as the largest oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. On April 20, 2010, Deepwater Horizon, an ultra-deepwater offshore rig, exploded in the Gulf of Mexico about 41 miles off the coast of Louisiana, killing 11 riggers and injuring 17 others.
Energy is a key factor in today's society, especially in Kentucky. Kentucky's main energy resource is coal, 91.8 percent of our energy comes from this resource but coal is nonrenewable, meaning that there is a limited amount of this type of fuel. Coal mining is also detrimental to the environment, people living and working in coal mining communities have a higher chance of getting lung cancer. with surface mining, this has been linked as a cause for poisoning local residences from the chemicals used in the mountaintop mining. there are still issues with the environment and natural wildlife in the surrounding areas of the coal mining as well.
The toxic chemicals released from extraction were poisoning clean water sources. This lead to increasing cases of cancer, hyperthyroidism, lupus, and renal failure in people located in areas near the present pipeline. These effects clearly show the vast hazard this oil presents for the environment and society. In conclusion, as stated and proven throughout this essay, the Keystone pipeline creates many environmental issues.
Drinking water sources have been contaminated with explosive methane, as well as other dangerous substances, such as benzene and arsenic, that can cause cancer and other serious illnesses. Toxic chemicals, as well as erosion and runoff from drilling operations, have fouled
“ Natural gas industry has been identified as a major source of water pollution “ ( source 1 ). This quote from source 1 explains how out of all the ways of polluting the oceans, oil is always one of the worst. “ 8 million metric tons of plastic trash enters the sea from land every year “ ( source 4 ). This quote from source number 4 explains how every year tons and tons of plastic from land, gets into the oceans and continues to pollute. Garbage is polluting the oceans so much that the water is getting so bad, people are getting ill from drinking
Although not much can be done to emission of GHGs from natural sources, but emission through human activities can be evaluated and corrective measures can be suggested so as to minimize them. Carbon footprinting is the measure
Scientists have found that renewable energy is a path towards the future for a clean and safe environment. Throughout all the studies and findings, there is a continuing fret whether people should be able to use a traditional way of energy or renewable energy, solar power. Solar energy is seen to be effective since there has progressively been more places that are benefiting from solar usage; however there are also some who disagree. Solar energy sources are derived from natural sources and is implicated throughout our daily lives. From the lights in the streets to the computers we use at home.
A carbon footprint is historically defined as “the total set of greenhouse gas emissions caused by an individual, event, organisation, or product.” Minimalist Graham Hill, who travels the
Should we pursue alternate energy sources? I feel that we should pursue alternate energy sources. It would stop pollution and global warming from happening so sudden, as we have it currently in our generation. Using renewable energy means that we will never run out of the energy we need.
Environmental issues began to be discussed and debated only towards the end of the 20th century. Since then significant amount of literature has been penned down raising awareness about issues of pollution, deforestation, animal rights and several others however it has failed to result in major changes, ideas or even actions to save the environment. Several species of animals have become extinct; pollution level is at an all-time high, global warming is leading to severe climate changes all across the globe but these problems do not seem to alarm the decision makers. Leydier & Martin (2013) also states that, “despite the increasing expression of concern in political and media debates about issues such as climate change, pollution and threats