Why are fossil fuels bad for the environment? Here's what they are and how they impact our environment.
Over two-thirds of American adults believe the U.S. should be taking steps to become carbon neutral by 2050, a 2022 Pew Research study found.
The United States is operating on a 10-year timeline to reduce greenhouse gas pollution by 50-52%. By 2035, the Biden administration’s goal is to create a power sector free of carbon pollution and to reach net zero emissions before or by 2050.
Carbon neutrality means balancing carbon dioxide by releasing no more into the atmosphere than is removed. Net zero means cutting greenhouse gas emissions as close to zero as possible.
Here’s why the world is moving away from fossil fuels:
Why are fossil fuels bad?
When fossil fuels are burned to produce energy for electricity, heat and transportation, they release greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, which traps heat in the atmosphere.
This increased heat causes the surface temperature of the Earth to rise, which gives way to extreme weather, biodiversity loss, worsened health and rising sea levels, to give a few examples.
Nearly three-fourths of human-caused emissions over the past two decades came from burning fossil fuels, the Department of Energy reports.
Burning fossil fuels also emits harmful pollutants like sulfur dioxide, ozone, nitrogen oxides and soot, which can cause health problems like asthma, bronchitis and lung cancer.
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What are fossil fuels?
Fossil fuels are extracted from decomposed plant and animal matter. This fossilized material turns into coal, oil and natural gas. According to National Geographic, coal is found in sedimentary rock deposits, oil comes from a solid material between layers of sedimentary rock and natural gas is found in pockets above oil deposits.
These fossil fuels contain carbon and hydrogen and, when burned, release energy that is used to light up the world with electricity, heat homes and businesses, fuel industrial processes and power vehicles.
Fossil fuels are a nonrenewable resource because they formed during the Prehistoric Period.
Why do we still use fossil fuel?
Fossil fuels produce cheap and reliable energy. They supply about 80% of the world’s energy, the Environmental Energy Study Institute reports. Almost half of the U.S.’ energy-related CO2 emissions come from oil, with 36% coming from natural gas and another 19% from coal.
Fossil fuels came into widespread use in the industrial era, and not having to rely on burning biomass for energy allowed for innovation. Oil became the most popular energy source because it was efficient in powering the transportation industry. Fossil fuels have a greater energy density, which means a smaller volume of them are needed to get the job done, the Brookings Institution reports.
Fossil fuels are known for their reliability because they're not dependent on certain weather conditions to be burned. They’ve been heavily subsidized by the government because of how ingrained they are in global energy practices, so they remain at a low cost, according to SolarReviews.
What would happen if we stopped using fossil fuels?
According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the carbon dioxide released from burning fossil fuels stays in the atmosphere for anywhere between 300 to 1,000 years.
Moving away from the fossil fuel industry would mean shifting to renewable energy like solar, wind, ocean and geothermal energy, as well as hydropower. Renewable energy comes from natural sources and is constantly replenished.
Still, ending the use of fossil fuels use will not remove the CO2 and greenhouse gas emissions already in our atmosphere.
Carbon removal was introduced as one method to combat this – it's a process that removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and stores it in trees, plants, soil, rocks or the ocean. According to the World Resource Institute, using a combination of natural strategies and high-tech strategies "would provide the most cumulative carbon removal at the lowest risk." This could be tree restoration, soil management, direct air capture, mineralization, ocean-based carbon removal, enhanced root crops or bioenergy with carbon capture and storage.
"Even with rapid investment in emission reductions, the United States could need to remove about 2 gigatons of CO2 per year by midcentury to reach net-zero — that's about 30% of U.S. 2019 greenhouse gas emissions," WRI writes.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Why is fossil fuel bad? What it is and how it impacts our environment.
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