What are the environmental consequences of using fossil fuels? Suggest the steps to minimise the pollution caused by various sources of energy including non-conventional sources of energy.
Answers
Consequences of using fossil fuels are :
1. They create air pollution as they are not eco friendly.
2. Fossil fuels are the largest emitters of green house gases such as carbon dioxide and methane.
3. Extraction of conventional fuels threatens the ecological balance in many areas.
Steps to minimise pollution are :
1. The dependency on fossil fuels should be reduced by switching to alternate sources of energy.
2. The judicious use of energy by avoiding wastage can reduce environmental problems.
3. Regular servicing of energy conversion devices should be done in order to maintain their efficiency.
4. We should focus on developing technology that could make the energy conversion devices much more efficient and cleaner.
5. Research should be continued to produce long lasting devices so that the environmental damage caused by assembly of devices get minimised.
Fossil fuels have the following environmental effects:
(i) Air pollution: Burning of fossil fuels release oxides and sulphides in the air and ma other harmful gases like carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide, etc. These cause various heal problems and also lead to acid rain which further affects water and soil resources.
(ii) Greenhouse effect: On burning fossil fuels, a large amount ofcarbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere. This is a greenhouse gas and does not allow the sun rays reflected fro the earth surface to escape into the atmosphere. Thus, increasing the temperature of the atmosphere. This is called greenhouse effect which results in global warming.
Following steps can be taken to minimise pollution:
(i) Use of smokeless appliances.
(ii) Use of refined technology to increase the efficiency of combustion process and to reduce escape of harmful gases into the atmosphere.
(iii) Judicious use of energy.