WHY NOT FOSSIL FUELS
Current combustion levels of fossil fuels have created a world-wide
over-production of greenhouse gasses. In the United States, more than
90% of greenhouse gas emissions come from the combustion of fossil
fuels. Combustion of fossil fuels also produces other air pollutants,
such as nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, volatile organic compounds
and heavy metals. Fossil fuels also contain radioactive materials,
mainly uranium and thorium, which are released into the atmosphere.
In 2000, about 12,000 tons of thorium and 5,000 tons of uranium were
released worldwide from burning coal. Harvesting, processing, and distributing fossil fuels can also create environmental concerns. Coal mining methods, particularly mountaintop removal and strip mining, have negative environmental impacts, and offshore oil drilling poses a hazard to aquatic organisms. Oil refineries also have negative environmental impacts, including air and water pollution.
Transportation of coal requires the use of diesel-powered locomotives, while crude oil is typically transported by tanker ships, each of which requires the combustion of additional fossil fuels. World leaders around the globe have concluded we cannot continue to pollute our planet without severe consequences to all of us. Fossil fuels are being depleted at an accelerating rate that cannot be sustained. The only result is scarcity.
“The 1973 energy crisis brought home the fact that sooner or later we would be running out of fossil fuels such as coal, petroleum, and natural gas. There were also environmental problems being caused by their utilization, such as air pollution, acid rains, global warming, ozone layer depletion, oil spills, and the surface mining of coal. Some scientists proposed that these problems caused by their utilization could be solved by the Hydrogen Energy System.â€
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