What does fossil fuel mean? What are the harms?

The world has been using fossil fuels for more than a century. From moving vehicles to keeping the lights on in homes, most of the energy required comes from fossil fuels. According to the latest statistics, even today oil, coal and gas meet approximately 80 percent of our energy needs.

Of course, this means that some prices are paid. Using fossil fuels for energy; It causes great harm to the environment, from air and water pollution to global warming. The damage caused by fossil fuels to the Earth is also documented by statistics.

What does fossil fuel mean? What are the harms?

According to the news in futureflow.life, non-renewable fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas are defined as fossil fuels. As we said at the beginning, fossil fuels constitute the main source of energy production today. These fuels release large amounts of greenhouse gases and other harmful substances when burned. These substances cause environmental problems such as climate change, air pollution, acid rain, water pollution and land degradation.

Fossil fuelsIts use also poses a serious threat to human health. Air pollution can cause various health problems, from respiratory diseases to heart diseases. In addition, the pollution generated during the extraction and processing of fossil fuels also contaminates water resources and soils.

Therefore, it is necessary to reduce the use of fossil fuels and switch to renewable energy sources. Renewable energy sources can play an important role in combating climate change and air pollution because they do not emit greenhouse gases and other harmful substances like fossil fuels.

According to International Energy Agency (IEA) data, 80 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions will be caused by fossil fuels in 2022. 35 percent of these emissions come from coal, 27 percent from oil and 28 percent from natural gas.

Burning fossil fuels releases large amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. These gases cause the sun’s rays to be retained in the atmosphere, causing global warming. The effects of global warming include sea level rise, drought, excessive rainfall, forest fires and melting glaciers.

Fossil fuels, which release harmful gases and particulate matter into the air, can cause respiratory diseases, lung cancer and heart diseases. World Health Organization (WHO) According to data, air pollution causes the premature death of approximately 7 million people in the world every year. 40 percent of these deaths are caused by air pollution caused by the use of fossil fuels.

At the same time, fossil fuels cause the release of acid-forming gases in the atmosphere. When these gases mix with rainwater, acid rain occurs. Acid rain also causes serious damage to vegetation, water resources and buildings.

Fossil fuels also play a role in water pollution. Because water resources are also polluted during the extraction and processing of fossil fuels. This pollution negatively affects the use of water for drinking, domestic and industrial purposes.

Land degradation also occurs during the extraction and processing of fossil fuels. This is one of the damages caused by fossil fuels to the Earth. These degradations destroy natural habitats and threaten biodiversity.

Building a clean future

Renewable energy sources do not create greenhouse gas emissions like fossil fuels. Therefore, they can play an important role in combating climate change and air pollution. Renewable energy sources include solar energy, wind energy, hydroelectric energy, geothermal energy and biomass energy. These resources stand out as cleaner and more sustainable energy sources compared to fossil fuels.

In 2015, world governments committed to reducing carbon emissions Paris AgreementHe signed. However, a report published by the United Nations shows that globally we are on track to produce more than twice as much coal, oil and gas as we can burn by 2030. This shows that the targets of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees are being moved away.