Benefits of Using Fossil Fuels - Case Study Example

Implications and benefits of fossil fuels Introduction “The benefits that fossil fuels have brought to modern society outweigh their environmental implications”. The above statement is true. Fossils fuel produces 81 percent of the energy that is used globally. Economic growth and industrial civilization of developed countries used gas and oil as the best alternative source of energy. Fossils fuels refer to substances that store energy that can be released by a chemical reaction. Fossils fuels are classified into oil, natural gas and coal. Fossils are referred to as fuels, which were formed by a natural process of anaerobic decomposition of dead organisms buried beneath the earth surface. The dead organisms that generate fossils are very old and exceed over a six hundred and fifty years old. OPEC (2011) revealed that of the total energy supply, oil constitutes 33 percent, coal 27 percent , natural gas 21 percent, nuclear energy 6 percent, bio-energy 10 percent , hydropower is 2 percent and wind, solar and geothermal energy is 1 percent. Fossils fuels are blamed for air and water pollution. There is also a strong link between global warming and amount of carbon dioxide released from combusting fossil fuel (Kennesaw State University2 n. d.). Benefits of using fossil fuels The world consumes about (86,100,000 × 365) 31,426,500,000 barrels of oil annually. Nevertheless, fossils fuel is non-renewable. According to OPEC (2011), the demand for oil products is expected to rise from 86.1 million barrels per day to 110.6 million barrels in 2035. Figure 1: World oil proven oil reserves Source: OPEC 2011. Middle East has the highest oil reserves while Western Europe has the least oil reserves. Figure 2: Total world energy supply. Sources: OPEC 2011 Oil, coal and natural are among the largest used fuel in the world in 1990-2008. From 2002 to 2008, the rate of using coals increased tremendously as compared with all other fuel. Use of bio-energy, nuclear power and hydroelectric power grew slowly but steadily. Generally, there is a general growth trend in the use of all fuels. This means that demand for energy increases each year. Civilised, developed, developing or underdeveloped nations of the world cannot live without fossil fuels. Fossil fuels account for more than 81 percent energy in the world today. This means that other sources of energy are inadequate and cannot be relied upon at the current state. Therefore, unless nuclear energy, bio-energy, wind energy, solar energy, geothermal energy and hydroelectric energy are harnessed to the level that provides energy equivalent to that of fossils fuels, then life may not be sustainable for majority of the six billion global populations. This is because fossil fuels touch every part of human life. Fossils fuels play critical role in nation’s economies. Fuel is also used to generate electricity by use of generators. First, without fossil fuel, aeroplane will not fly, ships (vessels) and vehicles will not move. Aeroplanes, ships, vessels, trucks, buses and other vehicles use gasoline to transport people to work or other places. Automobiles also transport goods from one point to another, thus facilitating accessibility of goods and services as well as trade. If there are not fuel, people will be confined to their geographical regions or it will take a long time for people to move from one point to another. Furthermore, there are other petroleum related products such as lubricants that help to facilitate smooth movement of moving parts of automobiles, which delay wear and tear. Secondly, without oil fuel there will be no pesticides or certain fertilizers. Without fossil fuel, it will be difficult to increase both crop and animal production. Pesticides are used to kill insects and termites that destroy plants as well as those that harm animals and people. Natural gas is a raw material used to develop ammonia through Haber process. Thirdly, fossil fuel helps people cook foods and warm themselves. Heat generated from natural gas is used to cook food and heat from coal is used to warm houses. Heat kills dangerous bacteria and germs that are present in uncooked food stuff. Furthermore, heat is important to keep bodies warm during extremely cold weather especially during winter. Fourth, people use fossils fuel to light their houses. Fossils fuel such as kerosene and liquidated petroleum gas (LPG) are used to provide light at night. They are mostly used in rural areas without electricity or solar energy. Fifth, fossil fuels help to produce important products. The products associated with fossils fuel include plastics, shampoos and other personal care products. Oil is a raw material for producing plastic trash, shopping bags, fishing rods, water and juice bottles, tires, pens, household detergents, lotions, garden hoses, plastic pipes, and nylon clothing among many other products. Paints are also products from petroleum products. Negative consequences of fossil fuels Though fossil fuel is necessary for human activities, it has led to undesirable environmental impact. There are a number of undesirable effects to the environment. First, the process of extracting and combusting fossils fuel produces carbon dioxide (CO2) and toxic gases that pollute the air. Burning oil and any hydrocarbon containing fossils fuel releases CO2 to the environment. Coal produces the highest levels of carbon dioxide. Furthermore, the by product of coal refining and combustion include uranium, mercury, thorium, arsenic and other heavy metals. It is estimated that burning oil (diesel fuel and gasoline), natural gas and coal produces 98 percent of the global CO2 emissions. CO2 has contributed significantly to the climate change because it depletes the ozone layer and absorbs heat in the atmosphere. Coal mining and combustion releases over one hundred toxic gases and residues to the environment. Coal combustion releases sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. Burning petroleum products cause problems such as smog, acid rain and nitrogen loading (Chow et al 2003). Fine soot particles from coal can cause heart and lung diseases, which may lead to death. Coal is associated with 24,000 deaths in the United States. According to UCS (2009), carbon dioxide absorbs heat from the sun and contributes to global warming. Furthermore, oceans become more acidic and temperatures increase as they absorb more carbon dioxide. In 1960, for every 1000 kilograms of CO2 released into the atmosphere, the atmosphere retained 400 kilogram of CO2. However, as from 2006, for every 1000 kilograms of CO2, the atmosphere retains 450 kilograms of it. This indicates that a tone released today is more dangerous than a tone released many years later. Figure 4: CO2 emission and retention in the atmosphere Sources: Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) 2009. The damage that CO2 has made will be felt in many generations to come in over a thousand years. Secondly, oil and coal pollutes the waters. Extraction and combustion of coal releases million tonnes of fly and bottom ash and boiler sludge annually. The process of coal extraction and combustion releases mercury, lead, cadmium, arsenic and oyster toxic constituents, which leak into and contaminate water supplies. It has been established that one gallon of motor oil can contaminate one million gallons of water. There are numbers of reported water pollution caused by oil spills. Fleming (2010) ascertained that there have been over 3,389 vessels spills between 1990 and 2006. However, the ten major spills in history were from seven vessels between 1976 and 1993 (Amoco Cadiz, Argo Merchant, Barge Bouchard 155, Barge Cibro Savannah, Burmah Agate, Ixtoc I and Megaborg), Exxon Valdez explosion and Arabian gulf war in 1991. Kennesaw State University1 (n. d.) stated that there are over 44 million gallons of in world’s water bodies. Of the total oil spills, 29 million oil spills into the water system is from the vessels transporting it. Oil spills have destroyed biodiversity. Oil spills in Amoco Cadiz killed 20,000 seabirds and 20,000,000 pounds of oysters. The recent Exxon Valdez explosion in the Mexico Gulf as estimated by experts killed 250,000 sea birds, 2800 sea otters, 300 harbor seals, 22 killer whales and 250 bald eagles. Oil spills also have negative effects on food chain and oxygen level in the sea. Oil spills into the sea are caused by human error and could be avoided. Fourth, fossils are getting depleted faster than it is created. Table 1: World Proven oil reserves of, coal and natural gas  Region Oil in barrels Million tonne oil equivalent of Coal Million tonne oil equivalent of Natural gas North America 30491000000 131674.8 6088.969 Latin America 124325000000 0 4826.972 Eastern Europe 67159700000 163020.3 54672.76 Western Europe 21065600000 32029.37 0 Asia and Pacific 44390500000 168471.4 0 Middle East 694605900000 0 79455.55 Africa 95461900000 35642.49 11074.14  Total 1,077,499,600,000 530838.4 156118.4 Source: OPEC 2011 The world oil resources may be depleted in the next (Proven reserves/ consumption per year= (1,077,499,600,000 ÷ 31,426,500,000) 34.29 years, assuming that oil consumption remain constant and no other reserves are found. However, it may take less years to deplete the resources given the fact that demand increases as population increases. Figure5: The graph showing oil depletions rates Source: Union of Concerned Scientists (2009) There is need to invest in sources of energy to reverse the high rate of fossil fuel utilization. If depletion rate is not reversed, it will be extremely difficult to get supply of oil and lubricants a well as oil related products such as pesticides, paints and natural gas associated fertilizes. Fifth disadvantage of using fossil fuel is that it disrupts land surface. Extraction of fossil fuels is done by removing top layer of soil. Removal of top soils to access oil and coal can cause deforestation and land degradation. When cola is mined, mountain top is removed. Mining in Appalachia for coal has destroyed mountains and adjacent valleys. Thousands of acres of forest have been destroyed in the process and bio-diversity that stretches beyond 700 miles has also been destroyed. It is estimated that between 7 percent and 10 percent of coal is on-combustible material that are disposed off on land. Sixth disadvantage of use of fossil fuel is resource misallocation. Billion gallons of water are used each year in cola fired plants as a cooling agent. In fact, a 500-megawatt coal plant requires about 2.2 billion gallons of water annually to cool it. Consequently, a lot of water is drawn from lakes, rivers and oceans. The act of drawing water and returning to the water body kills fish, insects’ larvae and other organisms. This is because heated water is hotter and may contain chlorine or biocides, which is added to protect plant operations. In the United States, power plants are responsible for withdrawing about 39 percent of United States fresh water. Seventh, oil has been associated with war over the years. Most countries in developing countries with extensive oil and natural gas resources have had long history of civil war. They have been invaded and innocent people killed. The civil war is fuelled by people who want to rob them of their resources. Conclusion Fossil fuels are non-renewable and may be depleted in less than forty years. In addition, burning fossil fuel releases carbon dioxide and other toxic fumes into the environment. Air pollution cause global warming, depletes ozone layer and causes diseases to living things. To add salt to injury, oil spills destroy bio-diversity. Luckily, air and water pollution can be minimized through use of modern technologies such as carbon dioxide trapping. Oils spills can also be avoided by using better transportation vessels and depletion of fossils fuels can be reversed by investing more in nuclear energy and other renewable sources of energy. There are concerted efforts in the world to harness nuclear power and renewable energy sources such as solar, geothermal and wind to reduce dependency on fossil fuel. This means that fossil fuel may not be completely depleted. Despite negative environmental implications associated with fossil fuel extraction and combustion, fossils fuels are best energy source ever available to man. They are cheaper to extract and convenient to use. Fossil fuels facilitate trade across regions, produce essential products such as packaging materials, pesticides and fertilizers. Fossil fuel is also used to cook food, heat houses during cold season and light houses. After weighing benefits and environmental implication of fossil fuel, it is evident that fossil fuels have brought greater help to modern society than harm. References 1. Chow, J., Kopp, R., and Portney, P. (2003) Energy Resources and Global Development Vol. 302, no. 5650 1528-1532 2. Fleming, S. (2010) Oil Spills: Cost of Major Spills May Impact Viability of Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund: Congressional Testimony. London: Diane Publishing. 3. Kennesaw State University1 (n. d.) Fossil Fuels: Oil: Environmental Science Activities for the 21st Century [online]. [accessed 25 July 2011]. Available from: . 4. Kennesaw State University2 (n. d.) Fossil Fuels: Oil: Environmental Science Activities for the 21st Century [online]. [Accessed 25 July 2011]. Available from: . 5. OPEC (2011) Annual Statistical Bulletin 2010/2011 [online] Vienna, Austria. [accessed 25 July 2011]. Available from: . 6. UCS 2009. Latest Climate Science Underscores Urgent Need to Reduce Heat-trapping Emissions [online] Cambridge. [accessed 25 July 2011]. Available from: . Read More