Riki, 1

Riki, Smah

Ms. Atwell

Per. 6 AP Eng. Lang.

24 March 2019

Fossil Fuels - The Imminent Danger that Threatens Us All

Earth: it is home to the many organisms that rely on its beautiful resources for life. If one

were to go out into a humanly-untouched part of the world, they would get a feel for this fact

themselves. Birds would be chirping overhead as deers would be running about in the midst of

the lush, green underbrush. Fish would make periodic jumps in the pristine water alongside the

other marvelous organisms that seek refuge in the depths of the clear, cold water. These details

seem fitting for what most of us know as “the natural environment,” but the sad reality is that

barely any portion of our planet can sustain these habitats. In fact, as we progress further into the

21st century, the Earth may not even be able to sustain us humans, arguably the only species on

the planet that has gone above the carrying capacity limit. Ironically, it isn’t our population size

that is causing the most devastating deterioration of our planet. It’s what we do that leads us

closer and closer to guaranteed extinction. Because of the massive profits and short term benefits

it brings to us, leading companies of the world opt to use fossil fuels as a means to supply the

world with the energy it demands. And by doing so, they are dooming us all by exposing the

atmospheres of the planet to gases it simply cannot handle. There have been movements

throughout the years to put an end to fossil fuels and calls to action to embrace safer forms of

“renewable energies,” some of which include the use of wind and perhaps solar energy. Even
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though the current world economy is facing difficulties transitioning into the use of renewable

forms of energy, we as the inhabitants of the planet can make this dream become a reality. We

must try to enact and enforce this change as quickly as we can to save our planet from the

harmful effects of fossil fuel consumption, and unless we take action at this very moment, the

fate of our planet will continue to sink deeper into the rough clutches of destruction.

Before even digging into the possible alternatives proposed against fossil fuels,

understanding the harmful impacts they possess against us is of crucial importance. First up in

this list of affected components is the environment itself. As a direct result of the burning of

fossil fuels, the natural phenomenon that dominates our planet is slowly disappearing. A crucial

example of such is the gradual rise in our ocean sea levels as polar caps begin to melt faster and

faster (Climate Science Report). Compared to the previous two and three centuries, the global

climate temperature is rising much faster than what has ever been recorded, and looking at the

other components that make up this research, scientists predict that there will be a point when the

temperature of the atmosphere will become so great that the polar ice caps will completely melt.

This is not the only downside to the rising of global temperatures, however. As the atmosphere

becomes warmer and warmer, a positive feedback loop — a phenomenon fueled by an external

environmental factor — is encouraged to take place in the sea. Colder liquids hold more air

particles because its constituent particles vibrate at a slow pace, a fundamental principle of

Chemistry that allows for particles to dissolve into other substances. Among other organisms,

this principle of saturation allows Coral Reefs to thrive in the sea. These aquatic plants rely on

their symbiotic relationship with ​zooxanthellae​, microorganisms that survive by feeding on the

dissolved carbon dioxide-carbonic acid molecules. However, as a direct result of the heating
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oceans, the warmer ocean molecules become faster and decrease the concentrations of carbonic

acid in the oceans. And because carbon dioxide molecules tend to absorb heat, more of these

particles in the atmosphere encourage higher temperatures, which in turn heats up the ocean and

creates a cycle. Coral Reefs are dying from the neverending cycle presented by this phenomenon,

but there’s no doubt that this will also kill numerous other forms of aquatic life in the face of

global warming, which presents but one harmful effect of fossil fuel consumption.

Alongside its destruction of aquatic habitats, the mining processes involved in the

excavation of fossil fuels are also detrimental to the humans who partake in the process to feed

their families. Mines filled with fossil fuels such as coal and volatile organic compounds are

filled with chemicals that, when exposed to the general public, can cause severe symptoms akin

to those found in diabetes and cancer, and these are the conditions within which miners try to

make a living (The Hidden Costs of Fossil Fuels). Most of these miners also have to face

physical perils that threaten to unleash their grave powers as miners work deep in the Earth’s

surface in a process known as subsurface mining, a situation in which caves can inwardly

collapse at any given moment. These disastrous effects particularly pertain to the human health

when uncovering the inherent evils in fossil fuels, but the environment unfortunately feels an

even greater wrath from such mining processes. Once fossil fuels have been excavated, the

leaders of mining companies fail to close up the sites of excavation in fear of the additional costs

involved. As a result, when it rains, the leftover chemicals found in these areas begin to mix with

the rain and flow into the surrounding areas in a process known as acid drainage, which harms

nearby human communities and devastates surrounding ecosystems. Not only that, but the simple

process of excavating usually removes the A horizon of soil, known as topsoil, and restricts the
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plot of land’s ability to give rise to new plant species. As a result, there remains nothing within

the mining area that can solidify the area’s soil, thus leading to landslides and mudslides that can

physically cause devastation in surrounding communities. All of these negative effects of fossil

fuels arise not from the actual process of burning the fuels, but rather from the elementary step of

mining​ them in the first place.

Oil spills and the actual harmful effects associated with the burning of fossil fuels take up

an entirely new slot of disasters besides the detriments of mining. As far as spills go, many

marine environments have been destroyed in the wake of such processes. For instance, two of the

world’s greatest oil spills, ​Axxon Valdez and ​Deepwater Horizon​, have not only killed

organisms, but have also halted the reproductive functions of many of these organisms for an

extended period of time. In addition to such oil spills, the actual process of burning coal has led

to long-term creation of diseases such as cancer, which is highly prominent in the coal-dominant

nation of China. In this country, leading companies try to argue that many of China’s finances

are taken care of through the highly energy-efficient nature of coal, which is arguably the

resource with the highest energy concentration. This argument completely contradicts the main

purpose of the environmentalist movement, which prizes the human health above all else. The

inhabitants of the country are actively trying to do something about this issue, and if they are

slowly inching their way to success, so should the rest of our planet try to achieve a similar goal.

This goal of human health conservation and planet preservation is difficult to achieve in

the face of modern civilization because there are several threats trying to oppose it. A prime

example of this is the United States’s political cabinet, the majority of which fails to believe in

the ​existence of global climate change (Nunez, Christina). This can be mainly attributed to the
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fact that political figures receive their income from the donations given to them by leading oil

companies, so making any outward claim against their shaky source of income is a bad political

move. This is also exactly why we must enact some sort of change in the current system because

unless we do something about the current global condition, the planet will become worse and

worse for the future generation that will eventually roam the surface of our planet without much

in their power. Another reason why attaining this goal is a difficult task is because anything other

than fossil fuels has a low EROI value, or “energy returned on investment” value. Investing in

fossil fuels is a huge benefit to the economy compared to investing in renewable sources of

energy such as solar energy or even conventional alternatives such as hydropower, which is why

companies in the modern day refuse to stop extracting fossil fuels. This will no longer be an

issue in around 50 years because the fossil fuel and coal reserves of the planet are slowly

dwindling (How Long Before We Run Out of Fossil Fuels?). However, by that point in time, it

will be all too late to switch to renewable forms of energy because the Earth’s fate would have

been long since sealed by the environmental destruction caused by the 150+ years of burning

fossil fuels. In the face of all this glum news, however, there has been some progress that has

been made. The Kyoto Protocol put an end to the use of clorofloro carbons [CFCs] in an attempt

to prevent ozone completion. This treaty was signed in the 1990s, and ever since then, the ozone

of our atmosphere has returned in great quantities. Following suit, the Paris Agreement of 2015

was an active effort to reduce global carbon emissions by 2030. However, the United States did

not sign the treaty, which creates a negative light not only for the US, but also for the nations that

follow the United States. Several nations have pulled out of the treaty since 2015, and unless
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global superpowers such as the United States follows through with these promises, making

changes to the global use of carbon products looks futile.

Despite current failed attempts, the general public has been trying to promote the greater

use of several other forms of energy, some of which seem extremely promising for the future of

the planet. Biomass, the current conventional form of energy, does not produce any extra carbon

emissions and also makes use of corn’s E-85, a popular form of biodiesel for cars (Encyclopedia

Britannica: Biofuels). This in itself is draining for the dwindling nutrients we have in our

topsoils. Current developments are looking into alternative sources of biofuels, however, most

notably food scraps. Before recycling, paper makes up most of our disposed waste. After we

recycle all of our paper products, food scraps make up most of our waste. If future developments

capitalize on the use of food scraps as a source for bio-energy, not only will our waste decrease,

but a more reliable form of energy will surface and reduce our ecological footprint. To further

this notion, processes such as waste-to-energy used in landfills strive to burn waste products as a

means to heat water and turn turbines and create electricity (​Wasted Energy: Converting

Discarded Food into Biofuels Promises Global Energy Boon)​ . Similar to the question of using

biomass, burning waste to create electricity is still in its infancy as a result of its current

inefficiency. But if we humans can capitalize on these promising alternatives to fossil fuels, there

remains a small glimmer of hope for our planet Earth.

There are many other potential forms of energy alongside biomass. Nuclear energy,

which is not as widely used due to its radioactive potential, does not emit carbon waste. With

enough developments in technology, this source of energy can be widely used. Hydropower,

though at the current moment harmful for organisms that live on the coasts of bodies of water,
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can be utilized in the run-of-river approach more often as well, a process in which the natural

flow of water creates energy. Many of these sources of energy lack efficiency, many individuals

would argue, and they wouldn’t be wrong. Similar to the various other forms of renewable forms

of energy, nuclear and hydropower are still in their elementary phases. Not only that, but these

sources of energy carry with them several risk factors that threaten both the environment in

which they reside and the surrounding living organisms. However, fossil fuels cause significantly

more damage than these renewable sources of energy and have virtually no expectation to

become more environmentally friendly in the future. Renewable sources of energy, with some

work and perseverance, can eventually become environmentally friendly with the help of more

investors a quality it has over the crude oil many companies strive for in their excavation

processes. In that regard, renewable energy holds the better position.

And then there are the two most speculated forms of the established kind of renewable

energy: wind and solar energy. Technology at the current moment has an extremely low value

for the EROI provided by these two forms of energy, but as technology becomes better and

better as time goes on, many scientists speculate that these two energies’ EROI values will go

higher and higher (Meehan, Chris). In fact, Elon Musk, one of the most famous people in the

United States, is trying to build things called ​Solar Factories in which he aspires to build

batteries filled with solar energy for developed and developing nations alike. Just creating

factories such as these will be difficult in their own respect, which will undoubtedly increase the

ecological footprint of the human race. However, Musk is making an active effort to cease the

use of fossil fuels, and if more of us can show our support to the cause, something can be done

immediately.
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The threat of fossil fuels looms over us ever so strongly in the modern generation as our

increased use of the strange material leads to the gradual, but prominent deterioration of mother

Earth. Life as we know it on this planet is moving towards a condition unable to sustain any

living creature as a direct result of human contribution, causing irreversible changes that only

creates more pain and sorrow in its wake. And this all because of the large quantities of fossil

fuels we are burning. Not only is marine life dying from the overexposure to oil spills and

melting ice, but life on land is not doing any better with the harmful acts of mining and potential

enactment of landslides. All of these threats plague our current world. They silently pass on to us

the grave truth that slowly unfolds as the living conditions on this planet becomes unbearable

and inhospitable. Unless we do something about it right here and right now, the Earth may not be

able to recover from our anthropogenic actions. But we still have time. We still have the

resources. We still have hope. If we can collectively advocate for the restriction on fossil fuel

consumption and cry for the use of sources of energy fit for the health of our planet, we will

stand a chance at curbing the harmful effects we have imposed on our homes. “If you look at the

science about what is happening on earth and aren’t pessimistic, you don’t understand the data.

But if you meet the people who are working to restore this earth and the lives of the poor, and

you aren’t optimistic, you haven’t got a pulse.” Paul Hawkin says. He is a firm optimist in the

condition of the planet even though he can see the environmental destruction we have done. But

if a leading author and entrepreneur such as himself believes that we can save our mother Earth,

then we should all take action and protect the one who is still giving us a medium through which

we can enjoy life.

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Works Cited

“How Long before We Run out of Fossil Fuels?” ​Our World in Data​,

ourworldindata.org/how-long-before-we-run-out-of-fossil-fuels.

Lehman, Clarence. “Biofuels-The Next Great Source of Energy?” ​Encyclopædia Britannica,​

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 31 Jan. 2008,

www.britannica.com/topic/Biofuels-The-Next-Great-Source-of-Energy-1391035.

Meehan, Chris. “Are Solar Panels Leading America to a Zero Marginal Cost Society?”

Solar-Estimate,​ Solar-Estimate, 14 Nov. 2018,

www.solar-estimate.org/news/2018-03-08-how-are-solar-panels-changing-america.

Nunez, Christina. “Global Warming Solutions.” ​National Geographic,​ National Geographic, 24

Jan. 2019,

www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/global-warming-solutions/.

“The Hidden Costs of Fossil Fuels.” ​Union of Concerned Scientists​,

www.ucsusa.org/clean-energy/coal-and-other-fossil-fuels/hidden-cost-of-fossils#.XGB-Y

lVKjcs.

“The National Academies Presents: What You Need to Know About Energy.” ​Fossil

Fuels -​, needtoknow.nas.edu/energy/energy-sources/fossil-fuels/oil/.

Usgcrp. “Executive Summary.” ​Extreme Storms - Climate Science Special Report,​

science2017.globalchange.gov/chapter/executive-summary/.
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“Wasted Energy: Converting Discarded Food into Biofuels Promises Global Energy Boon.”

Scientific American,​ www.scientificamerican.com/article/food-waste-to-energy/.