Energy is very important in our daily lives because it is a basic human need. We use energy in almost every activity in a day. There are different forms of energy resources on the earth. All energy sources have some impact on our environment and the environmental impact of energy resources has a diverse origin. In this article, we will discuss energy resources and their ecological effects.
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What are Energy Resources?
Energy is required for the evolution of life forms on earth. Energy is obtained from different sources. Everything that we use today – clothes, cooking gas, furniture, food, notebooks, vehicles, houses, fuel, roads, toys, utensils, etc.- is obtained from resources on the earth.
What are the Environmental Impacts?
Some major environmental Issues are as follows:
- Non-renewable resources such as coal and petroleum cause more harm to the environment when compared to renewable resources, in the form of air and water pollution, generation of toxic wastes, etc.
- Coal gives out sulfur as emissions that harm the trees. Moreover, their extraction plants contaminate rivers and lakes and affect the aquatic ecosystem adversely.
- Oil production and usage result in releasing the poisonous carbon oxides into the air.
- Even renewable resources are not completely eco-friendly. The generation of energy from the wind, the sun, tides, etc. also creates harmful environmental impacts and affects biodiversity to a significant level.
- The exhausts from natural gas release nitrogen and even methane oxides, which affect people and animals that use water from the affected water bodies.
- Biomass also results in the generation of harmful gases. Ash created on burning the biomass is another unwanted waste that causes disposal issues due to its lead and cadmium content.
- Manufacturing the photovoltaic (PV) cells produces toxic chemicals.
- Although hydropower does not cause air or water pollution, it severely impacts the fish population. It causes the relocation of the people and animals living near the dam sites. Moreover, it changes the water temperature.
Thus, all energy resources have an impact on the environment. There is no such thing as a ‘clean’ source of energy. The consolation is that renewable resources cause lesser environmental impacts than non-renewable resources of energy. Research is still on for the development of resources that are long-lasting and have minimal environmental impacts!
Frequently Asked Questions – FAQs
What is considered renewable energy?
Is renewable energy sustainable?
What are non-renewable energy sources?
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Is renewable energy efficient?
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