Environmental Problems Caused by Traditional Energy Sources Usage

The most common energy source is fossil fuel including coal, petroleum and natural gas. All of them produce carbon dioxide emissions that lead to greenhouse effect and global warming.

In addition to atmospheric pollution, coal burning produces hundreds of millions of tons of solid waste products annually, including ash and such radioactive chemicals as mercury, uranium, thorium, arsenic which pollute atmosphere, soil , water and impose diseases to the living . Also coal industry destroys habitats of animals and plants, leading to their extinction. [4]

Petroleum is even more harmful to the environment because it is highly toxic causing cancer, leukaemia, heart and lung problems. Besides high temperatures created by petroleum burning cause nitrogen gas in the surrounding air to oxidize. Later it is combined with the sulfur emissions from the oil and water in the atmosphere creating acid rain. It causes such problems as dead trees and acidified lakes with dead fish and underwater flora. Furthermore acid rain leads to increased corrosion of machinery and buildings, which eventually end up in their destruction. Also oil spills can take place leading to water and soil destruction and flora and fauna. [5]

Natural gas is believed to be the cleanest fossil fuel, as it produces less carbon dioxide. But few people know that it is more dangerous since natural gas itself is a greenhouse gas far more potent than carbon dioxide when released into the atmosphere. We are lucky that it is released in smaller amounts so that nothing dreadful happens to the air. [6]

Another source of energy is biofuel comprising various plants and plant-derived materials. The main side effect of biofuel manufacturing is biodegradation such as deforestation.

Nuclear power is also used as energy source in many countries. The environmental impact results from the nuclear fuel cycle, operation, and the effects of nuclear accidents.

The routine health risks and greenhouse gas emissions from nuclear fission power are smaller than those associated with coal, oil and gas. However, there is a "catastrophic risk" potential if containment fails, which in nuclear reactors can be brought about by over-heated fuels melting and releasing large quantities of fission products into the environment. The most long-lived radioactive wastes, including spent nuclear fuel, must be contained and isolated from humans and the environment for hundreds of thousands of years. Moreover nuclear power catastrophes have crucial consequences for environment and all the living kinds.

For example the large-scale release of radioactivity in Chernobyl and Fukushima resulted in people being evacuated from a 30 km exclusion zone set up around the power plant which are still in effect. [5]

The next energy source is wind power and it also has some disadvantages. Its environmental impact when compared to the damage caused by fossil fuels, is relatively minor as wind turbines have the lowest global warming potential.

There are reports of bird and bat mortality at wind turbines as there are around other artificial structures. The scale of the ecological impact may or may not be significant, depending on specific circumstances. Prevention and mitigation of wildlife fatalities, and protection of peat bogs, affect the siting and operation of wind turbines.

Aesthetic aspects of wind turbines and resulting changes of the visual landscape are significant. Conflicts arise especially in scenic and heritage protected landscapes. [7]